Members of the New Zealand Mining Board of Examiners are appointed by WorkSafe New Zealand.

Paul Hunt – Chair

Paul was appointed as Chief Inspector Extractives at WorkSafe in 2018. Prior to that, he worked in senior operational roles, including being the North Island General Manager for a large coal mining operator, Mine Manager and Site Senior Executive of an underground coal mine and Site Senior Executive of an opencast operation.

He has a 30 year history in the mining sector and holds first class coal mine manager, coal mine deputy, coal mine underviewer and site senior executive certificates of competence, along with qualifications in incident management, incident analysis, mineral industry risk management and occupational health management.

Paul is based in Hamilton.

Andy Allen

Andy has over 35 years of experience in the quarrying and construction industry, with a variety of leadership positions in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Andy is currently employed as the NZ Group Health and Safety Technical Manager, Fulton Hogan and Stevenson, responsible for ensuring safety standards are set and met in high-risk areas, including quarries.

Ed Ayre

Ed is a construction professional with a background of tunnel and underground operational experience. He holds an A Grade Tunnel Manager CoC, and a Site Senior Executive CoC.

Ed is a manager in a business team at McConnell Dowell, where he ensures safe systems are in place for work bids submitted. Ed is also an active committee member of the New Zealand Tunnelling Society.

Fiona Bartier

Fiona Bartier has more than 20 years’ experience in the mining sector and has a special interest in health and safety, training and development. She holds a site senior executive certificate of competence and is also a member of the MinEx Board.

Fiona has worked in management roles for research organisations, industry groups, and mining companies.

Fiona’s interest in training and development and her extensive networks in mining are of great benefit to the Board.

Brian Bouzaid

Brian is currently the Aggregates Manager for Holcim NZ. He is a highly experienced quarry business leader with more than 35 years’ experience in the extractives sector, both in New Zealand and overseas. Brian has also held several board positions including inaugural Chair of MinEx and Chair of the Extractive Industry Training Organisation (EXITO) through to its merger with MITO, where Brian is the current Industry Council Chair.

He is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Quarrying (IoQ) and has been a member of its Executive Board, including serving as President. In 2018 he was presented with the Quarry Industry Leadership award for his services to the quarry industry.

Brian holds an A-grade quarry manager certificate of competence.

Timothy Kennedy

Tim is currently Fulton Hogan’s Quarries Operation Manager in Gisborne. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the quarrying industry in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific.

Tim brings a knowledge and understanding of, and involvement in, learning and development in the extractives sector. He was a member of MITO’s sector advisory group on its review of extractives national qualifications. He is a workplace tutor and has been a registered assessor.

Tim holds a New South Wales Diploma in Extractives Industries Management and a number of Australian and New Zealand quarrying certificate of competence (CoC), including a New Zealand A-grade quarry manager certificate of competence.

Liz McKenzie

Liz has been working with the extractives industry as an expert in training and education since 2005. She has broad, practical experience and understanding of workplace and vocational training and assessment in New Zealand.

Currently, Liz works at Te Pūkenga – NZ Institute of Skills and Technology, having a strong understanding of the opportunities for work-based, campus-based, and blended models of delivery for industry training.

Bernie O'Leary

Bernie has more than 35 years of industry experience in New Zealand, Australia, North America and South America working in underground, open pit and tunnelling operations. He has more than 25 years’ experience in managing such operations.

Bernie holds a Bachelor of Mining Technology (Hons) degree in mining and certificates of competence from New Zealand and Australia. Bernie has been a member of the Board since its formation in 2015 and is also a member of the Extractives Industry Advisory Group to WorkSafe.

Since 2021, Bernie has used his experience and knowledge to provide consulting services to the industry in the areas of operations management, and reviews and audits of safety management plans.

Mark Pizey

Mark has more than 40 years' work experience in New Zealand and overseas in both coal and metalliferous mining operations and surface and underground environments. His career culminated with his appointment as WorkSafe’s Chief Inspector (Extractives) from 2016 to 2018. Following his role as Chief Executive of Central Plains Water Limited, a multimillion-dollar irrigation scheme in Canterbury, Mark is now retired. 

Mark was also the General Manager for Solid Energy’s Pike River re-entry project from 2012 to 2016, responsible for overall management of the project to recover forensic evidence and assist with ongoing investigations.

Mathew Vandy

Mathew is the Industry Relationship Manager for Hanga-Aro-Rau Workforce Development Council. Hanga-Aro Rau work with industry and employers to understand the skills that are needed. This information is passed to education and training providers, who develop learning programmes that support people to develop skills to meet future workforce needs. This involves the development of industry qualifications, setting industry standards and quality assurance training against industry standards.

Andy Weir

Andy has over 20 years of experience in the extractives industry including quarrying, mining, oil, and gas. He has held maintenance, operations, and appointed safety positions within the industry.