New member for Building Practitioners Board

Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson has appointed building surveyor Dianne Johnson to the Building Practitioners Board while current members Jane Cuming and Colin Orchiston will be reappointed for a further three year term.

Ms Johnson is managing director of a building inspection firm. She was an executive member of the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and the National Association of Women in Construction and a former member of the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service Evaluation Panel.

Ms Johnson is an expert witness for both the Arbitration and Disputes Tribunals. She has a Graduate Diploma in Dispute Resolution (Arbitration) and a NZ Certificate in Design (Architecture).

The Board is made up of six to eight members appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister for Building and Construction. One member must be a solicitor of at least five years.

The Board was established under section 341 of the Building 2004 (the Act). The Board’s functions are to:

• approve rules relating to licensed building practitioners
• investigate and hear complaints, and discipline licensed building practitioners
• hear appeals against decisions of the Registrar in accordance with the Act.

“The board in an excellent balance in terms of skills and experience,” Mr Williamson says.