Wellington-based Grant Robertson has been successful in filling one of the two vacancies on the board of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation. Robertson is described as a man with a long-term interest in HIV issues, including being New Zealand's representative at the Preparatory Commission for the Special United Nations General Assembly on HIV and AIDS. His work at the United Nations in New York also saw him as a member of the Executive Board of the UN Development Programme and UN Population Fund, including a period as Vice-President of the Board representing donor nations. "As a gay man I have, as much as anyone can claim, a good understanding of a key community affected by HIV," he says. "The alarming increase in reported infections among men who have sex with men is a critical issue for the Board and the community as a whole." Acting NZAF board chair Jeremy Lambert says Robertson has a wealth of experience in the political and diplomatic arena. "This work has given him extensive experience of working in a governance role and a clear understanding of the different roles of governance, management, and the important role trustees play." The second vacancy, created by the departure of former embattled board chair Simon Robb, has been temporarily filled by solicitor Cameron Law until new applications have been received and considered in January. Law worked as the national convener of the Campaign for Civil Unions, a lobby group that successfully supported the passage of the Civil Union Bill. "Initially we believed there would be no need to re-advertise for applicants to fill the vacancy left by Simon," Lambert explains, "but a closer examination of the applicants showed that none had sufficient experience in legal areas, which is a skills base identified as a requirement for at least one board member to have. We have therefore decided to co-opt a person with this experience to temporarily fill this position and will re-advertise the second vacancy in the hope of attracting a suitably qualified and experienced applicant for the longer term."
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 14th December 2005 - 12:00pm