Independent members appointed to QLDC Risk and Assurance Committee

Queenstown Lakes District Council has appointed Alastair Hercus, Matt Mouat, and Juliet Tainui-Hernandez as independent members of its Risk and Assurance Committee. 

The committee supports the Council’s governance of risk, assurance, compliance. Appointing independent members to the committee is considered best practice and strengthens public accountability by offering independent scrutiny, challenge, and insights that enhance decision-making and organisational performance.

The independent members join Councillors Niki Gladding (chairperson), Stephen Brent and Samuel (Q) Belk to form the full Risk and Assurance Committee.

The appointments were made following an extensive recruitment process which ran over January 2026, resulting in 63 applications from highly skilled candidates from across Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Queenstown Lakes District Mayor John Glover said, “I’m humbled that we had so many applications for these positions, from extraordinarily high achieving individuals and it was an incredibly challenging selection process.  In the end, it came down to selecting a combination of three that collectively brought the skills and experience that we were looking for.”

The successful candidates bring a broad range of expertise to the committee.

Alastair Hercus is a highly experienced governance professional and lawyer, with extensive board and advisory experience across financial services, insurance, infrastructure, primary industries, local government and Crown entities.  A chartered member of the Institute of Directors, Alastair currently serves on the boards of the Financial Markets Authority, the Stroke Foundation of New Zealand and the Natural Hazards Commission.  He also holds several independent directorships including on the Invercargill Airport, Cooperative Life and Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund Management Company.  A former Southlander, Alastair has been a regular visitor to the district all his life. His parents and grandparents lived in the district and he intends to spend more time based at his family holiday home in Arrowtown.

Juliet Tainui‑Hernandez brings extensive experience in senior executive, advisory and governance roles across NZ and internationally.  This has included serving as Assistant Governor of the Reserve Bank and as a non‑executive director on major financial and public interest boards such as ASB Bank, Rewiring Aotearoa, Ngāi Tahu Holdings and Whai Rawa Fund. She has strong connections to the region through her whakapapa (Ngāi Tahu and early Central Otago settler). A qualified lawyer, member of the Waitangi Tribunal and the nominating committee for the Guardians of NZ Super, Juliet offers deep expertise in risk, regulation, economic development, sustainability and transformation, supporting effective decision‑making and accountability in complex public and community‑facing environments. 

Matt Mouat brings extensive New Zealand and international experience in governance, risk management, compliance and assurance, having held senior leadership roles across the banking, insurance and professional services sectors. He has advised boards and executives on complex risk and regulatory matters, including as Head of Risk and Advice Delivery at ANZ, interim Chief Risk Officer at Partners Life, and most recently as Director of his own consulting business.  Matt loves to spend time skiing and mountain biking and is actively involved with several local organisations.  He volunteers with KiwiHarvest, OneBike, and is a member of Hato Hone St John's Major Incident Support Team.

The first meeting of the Risk and Assurance committee will be held on 9 April, 10.00am at the Council Chambers, 10 Gorge Road, Queenstown. 

ENDS | KUA MUTU

Media contact: 03 441 1802

communications@qldc.govt.nz 

FURTHER INFORMATION | Kā pāroko tāpiri:

The objectives of the Risk and Assurance Committee is to assist the Council to discharge its responsibilities for:

• the robustness of the internal control framework and audit management practices

• the integrity and appropriateness of internal and external reporting and accountability arrangements, including financial

• the robustness of risk management systems, processes and practices

• compliance with applicable laws, and regulations

• standards and best practice guidelines

• the establishment and maintenance of controls to safeguard the financial and non-financial assets, including insurance.