Water New Zealand 7th South Pacific Stormwater Conference 2011

Keynote Speakers

Nick Smith was born and educated in North Canterbury in a bridge construction business family. He subsequently completed a first-class honours degree in civil engineering and a PhD in landslides at Canterbury University. Nick was politically active from a young age and influenced by a year as an AFS scholar to Delaware, USA. He became a district councillor while studying and has held many offices in Young Nationals and in the senior National Party prior to being selected as the National candidate for Tasman in 1989. He won the Tasman seat in 1990 and 1993, and following the introduction of MMP, Nelson in 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2008, despite both having a long previous history as Labour areas. Nick has held nine Ministerial portfolios in the Bolger, Shipley and Key Cabinets, covering Conservation, Education, Immigration, Corrections, Social Welfare, and Treaty Negotiations. He is currently Minister for the Environment, Climate Change, and ACC. His greatest passion has been improving New Zealand's management of the environment and natural resources. In 1998, he founded the Bluegreens as a group within National that wish to advance policies that support economic prosperity and a clean, green New Zealand. National achievements in which Nick has played a significant role include the creation of the Kahuranigi and Rakiura National Parks, 12 Marine Reserves, the introduction of the Emissions Trading Scheme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the establishment of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, and the Environment Protection Authority.

Professor Tony Wong is Chief Executive and director of the Centre for Water Sensitive Cities in Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He is internationally recognised for his research and practice in the sustainable urban water management, particularly in Water Sensitive Urban Design. His expertise has been gained through national and international consulting, research, and academia and he has led a large number of award-winning urban design projects in Australia and overseas. In October 2010, Tony was presented by the Institution of Engineers, Australia with the prestigious Sir John Holland Award as Australia’s 2010 Civil Engineer of the Year. In presenting the award, the Chair of the Civil College Board described Professor Wong as, 'a visionary, who throughout his career, has been an effective thought leader who continues to encourage his colleagues and clients through his passion and dedication to building sustainable environments'.
Professor Wong is a member of the Urban Water Advisory Panel of the National Water Commission of Australia since its inception and served on the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council’s working group on Water for Cities in 2006 and 2007. Tony currently advises the Public Utility Board of Singapore on institutionalising water sensitive urban design in the City of Singapore.

Dr. William F. (Bill) Hunt is Associate Professor, Extension Specialist, and leader of the Stormwater Engineering Group at North Carolina State University in the Southeast USA. An active researcher in stormwater practice performance and establishing stormwater metrics, Dr. Hunt and his team have published 21 journal articles on these subjects since 2009. He has conducted applied research on a variety of stormwater practices and low impact design including stormwater wetlands, rain gardens, permeable pavements, pervious friction courses, level spreader-vegetated filter strips, swales, and green roofs. His many clients include transport agencies, state environmental departments, various cities and counties, private businesses, and environmental advocacy groups. As Extension Specialist, Dr. Hunt conducts between 25 and 35 stormwater-related workshops for designers, contractors, maintenance professionals across North Carolina, the USA, and overseas. He and his colleagues pioneered certification courses in stormwater practice maintenance and rain garden construction that remain among the few of their kind world-wide. Bill is a registered professional engineer and most recently served as Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Auckland, working with Dr. Elizabeth Fassman. Dr. Hunt considers New Zealand and the United States as the two most beautiful countries in the world, but NZ has an edge in “Beauty per Hectare.”