A replacement head of the Environment Ministry has been appointed.
Hugh Logan resigned after 18 months as chief executive and secretary for the Environment. Under his tenure the ministry was embroiled in a series of accusations that it had become politicised when it was meant to be part
of the politically neutral public service.
Mr Logan has had to apologise a number of times for his handling of employment matters and what he told ministers about them.
State Services Commissioner Mark Prebble said Paul Reynolds would take the helm.
Dr Reynolds has been deputy director general for policy at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry since 2002.
Dr Prebble said Dr Reynolds had leadership, policy development and management experience.
"His work at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry developing strategies for major initiatives such as water allocation and quality policy and the proposed climate change Emissions Trading Scheme, together with his sound grasp of environmental and sustainability issues, means Dr Reynolds has a very good understanding of the sector and the issues that the Ministry for the Environment faces," he said.
Dr Reynolds previously spent four years as the chief policy adviser in the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology. From 1992 to 1998 he was the science manager, Immunomolecular Plant Biology, at the Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand.
Dr Reynolds began his public service career as a scientist at the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR).
He has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and a PhD in plant biochemistry from Otago University. In 1990 he was awarded a Commemoration Medal for his contribution to New Zealand science and in 1996 he received the Watson Victor Award for Biochemistry.
Dr Reynolds takes up his appointment on July 21.
- NZPA
