Author

Hon Lianne Dalziel (LLB) was elected as the Mayor of Christchurch in October 2013, after serving for 23 years in the New Zealand Parliament. Lianne served as a Cabinet Minister in the 5th Labour Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Rt. Hon Helen Clark (1999-2008). During that time, Lianne held a number of portfolios, including Immigration, Commerce, Food Safety, Women’s Affairs & Senior Citizens and associate roles in Education and Justice. After the change in government in 2008, she was elected to chair the Commerce Select Committee, which had oversight of the regulation of the non-banking finance sector. The Christchurch East electorate was severely affected by the 2010/11 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence and Lianne played an important role in ensuring that her constituents had access to accurate information, as well as ensuring that their concerns were communicated to decision-makers. Lianne was invited to join the UNISDR’s Parliamentary Advisory Group on Disaster Risk Reduction in 2012. With this background, Lianne has become a champion of resilience, with Christchurch selected as one of the first tranche of cities to participate in the 100 Resilient Cities Network pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation.