PHANZ Council

The Public Health Association of New Zealand Incorporated (PHANZ) was incorporated on 6th January 1988 and registered as a charitable entity on 30 June 2008 (CC30232).

Membership (join us) is open to any person with a commitment to the aims and values of the Association and who pays an annual subscription. Full time students are free. 

The Executive Council is the governing body and it determines the national strategy and policy for the Public Health Association, in consultation with its members, and oversees its implementation.

The Executive Council of the Association is constituted by nine members, including a President, Treasurer, and seven Executive Councillors.

The Executive Council positions are held for a two-year term and may be held for a second two-year term if re-elected. The maximum term of service in the same capacity is four consecutive years.

Executive Council members

Co-Presidents 

Nari Faiers

Gail Duncan

Treasurer

Dr Nicole Coupe 

Executive Councillors

Leah Bain - Elected Councillor

Dr Teah Carlson - Elected Councillor

Dr Lifeng Zhou - Asian Caucus

• PHA Election Bylaws
• PHANZ Rules

Meet our Co-Presidents

Nari Faiers (BMD, MA First Class Honours) 

Tribal affiliations: Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Tapuika, Ngāpuhi. 

Nari has vast experience in the field of Māori development and research working as a specialist in the Māori Growth Programme at Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development (ATEED) and in advancement at AUT University.  

Her thesis (2014) investigated tribal governance in sacred spaces in particular how Tūhourangi retained control and management of Rotokākahi (Green Lake) through generations of colonisation, land confiscation and a dysfunctional resource management system. This research involved working closely with tribal members and key stakeholders in the Rotorua region and sought to provide a snapshot of the cultural, environmental and political meanings involved in this quite complex resource.  

In 2015, Nari led the Global Auckland Research Project, which brought together pūrākau from the twenty-one, mana whenua of Tāmaki Makaurau. This research was complex due to the diverse understandings each iwi has with this landscape.This research was acknowledged byTā Pita Sharples who presented Nari with an Equity award in 2016. 

Nari is currently enrolled as a doctoral candidate at Te Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, exploring indigenous models of response and resilience built from crises. This topic involves a strong emphasis on indigenous research methodologies and the development of Kaupapa Māori praxis to ensure worldviews are honoured and privileged for both the researcher and researched. 

Nari has worked across many sectors and communities (primarily working with wāhine) that include the Cervical Screening Programme, Women’s Refuge, AUT University, ATEED andHāpai Te Hauora where she is currently leading the workforce development for the National SUDI Prevention Coordination Service and Te Kākano, Minimisation Prevention Gambling Harm. 

Nari continues as an active member on the ADHB Child Youth Mortality Review Group, CMDHB SUDI Prevention Steering Group, Power 2 Protect Steering Group and has recently been elected as a Board member and Co-President of the Public Health Association NZ.  

1. Mana whenua, mana moana: Tūhourangi and Lake Rotokākahi: https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/handle/10292/7398 

Gail Duncan

Gail Duncan is based in Wellington and was elected as a Board member of the Public Health Association NZ in 2020 and Co-President in 2021. 

Gail Duncanhas had a career in industry and government working as a professional microbiologist  primarily in the area of food safety and compliance beginning her career in industry as amicrobiologist and technical manager. Gail then served fornearly 21 years at Ministry for Primary Industries New Zealand Food Safety branch in a key roleensuring food microbiology programmes and laboratory standards were delivered to meet international requirements.In March 2022 Gail commenced as a consultant, Gail E. Duncan Independent Economic Researcher,and is presently contracted withTe Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington Ferrier Research Institute.  

Gail has had a growing interest in public health and economics and taken post graduate qualifications in both.  Her qualifications include BSc Microbiology, PGDIp Public Health, Master Public Health, PGDip Professional Economics. Her Master’s thesis was on the Economic Benefits of Food Safety Regulation and she contributed to the international publication ‘Food Safety Economics’.  

Gail has broad based public health interests, for example presenting on carbon tax at the World Congress in Public Health Melbourne in 2017, and the Status of Beneficiaries in New Zealand at the NZEA conference in 2019 and in 2021 a poster ‘Price of public health measures to COVID-19 versus economic recovery – expectation versus outcome’.   

Gail has gained global perspectives on climate change and infrastructure development at FIDIC International Infrastructure Conferences from 2012 – 2019 held at Seoul, Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro, Dubai, Marrakesh, Jakarta and Mexico City. 

Gail‘s main focus is developing policies to address homelessness, poverty, expanding opportunity for all New Zealanders to participate in the economy, developing a strong public health system to respond to the know and the unknown, and enabling key infrastructure development to improve the health of people and their communities. 

The PHA – a strong and informed collective voice for a healthy and well New Zealand.

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