He was then appointed to the national executive board of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology and the Food Standards Authority of Australia and New Zealand.
“Nothing was planned, it all just turned up and I took it,” Walker said.
“Someone once said that I can’t refuse a committee.”
Walker currently sits on the boards of Yobees Honey (chair), Nukuhau Carbon, Taumaha Trust, and Optical Forestry. He has sat on more than 20 across the past and present.
Walker became a Justice of the Peace in 1991 and became a Taranaki regional councillor representing the South Taranaki ward in 1998.
“I stood for council because I felt that you should take your place and do your time,” he said.
“You want a happy successful society and you have to contribute in your own small way.”
Walker is now in his ninth term as a councillor and is deputy chair of the council. He is planning to run for a 10th and final term in the upcoming election.
“I decided I would stand one more time,” he said.
A current focus for Walker is tackling climate change in a way that benefits rural communities.
“I want to see that climate change things are done but also balance that against not putting people out of work and not damaging our industries and economy,” he said.
Walker was “a bit surprised but greatly honoured” when he found out he would be made an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and has made plans to celebrate with his family, including five children and seven grandchildren.
“I guess you might say that I got the award because of lots of little drips and drops,” he said.
“You’re involved in so many things and no one really knows about it and you don’t publish it but somehow there is somebody out there who notices.”
Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.
