About Ross

Local Government

  • Councillor Port Chalmers Borough Council 1986-1989 (3 years)
  • Member Chalmers Community Board 1989-1998 & 2001-2007 (15 years)
  • Chairperson Dunedin Labour Local Government Committee 1980s
  • Member National Community Boards Executive Steering Committee (1990s?)
  • Chairperson Organising Committee National Community Board Conference 2005

Community

  • President Otago Tramping & Mountaineering Club (OTMC) 1970s
  • OTMC Bushcraft Course Director and Co-Director 1976 and 1983
  • Chairman Dunedin Mountain Safety Committee 1970s
  • National Executive Member Federated Mountain Clubs 1970s
  • Secretary/Treasurer Sawyers Bay & Roseneath Residents Association 1980s-1990s
  • Founding member Harbour Cycle Network 2004

Advocacy

  • Initiated campaign to oppose filling in Sawyers Bay for football fields 1983
  • Initiated campaign to oppose significant cuts to Port Chalmers bus services 1985
  • Objection to sewage discharge rights renewal into Sawyers Bay 1985
  • Hospital Clerical Workers Union – Delegate, Negotiator, Chairperson
  • Chairperson Combined Hospital Employees Committee 1980s
  • Part of campaign Labour Party to change DCC rating system from land value to capital value 1980s
  • Submissions to Local Government Commission on local government reorganisation 1987-1989
  • Contested asset testing regime for rest home subsidy for elderly 1990s
  • Founding member of Harbour Cycle Network 2004
green fern plant in close up photography

Recreational & Hobbies

  • Tramping and Mountaineering (1969-now)
  • Running, Mountain Running:
    Starting with fast tramping including numerous Silverpeaks Marathon circuits;
    Graduating to running half marathons and one Harbour Marathon in 1996;
    Then mountain running in the 1990s including the Kepler Challenge and the 3 Peaks
    And lately the 3 Peaks 26km race in 2021
  • Cycling
    Starting with commuting from Roseneath to Dunedin in the 1990s;
    Then a bit of road racing;
    Then mountain bike events like the Lake Tekapo Mountain Bike Pursuit;
    And AOK and Saturday Social Rides
    Now an e-bike and cycle trails in Central Otago and Nelson.
  • Photography
    Bought my first camera with my paper-run money.

Work

  • Summer jobs:
    Guide Routeburn Track & Road Construction around Lake Pukaki
  • Process Worker Metal Furniture Factory Dunedin
  • Clerical Worker Public Service:
    Valuation Department & Ministry of Transport Dunedin & State Services Commission Wellington
  • Barman & Fitters Assistant, Tom Price, West Australia
  • Motel Manager, St Kilda
  • Senior Clerk, Hallenstein’s Head Office, Dunedin
  • Dunedin Hospital:
    Accounts Payable Clerk, Payroll Clerk, Ledgers Clerk, Software Trainer, IT Project Manager, Clinical Coder, Quality Team – Project Leader
  • Seasonal Work:
    Fruit packhouses Central Otago & Kiwifruit packhouses Bay of Plenty
  • Relief Motel Management: Invercargill, Queenstown, Mosgiel, Dunedin, Christchurch, Kaikoura, Blenheim, Nelson, Fox Glacier, Westport, Porirua, Onehunga.
  • Data Administration, Oceana Gold, Dunedin
  • Sightseeing Bus Driver, Dunedin.

Places I have lived in:

  • Dunedin:
    Roslyn, Maori Hill, St Kilda, Opoho, St Kilda, Roseneath, Port Chalmers, Opoho, Mosgiel, Opoho.
  • New Zealand:
    Thames, Earnscleugh, Queenstown, Lake Pukaki, Hutt Valley, Te Puke, Katikati.
  • Australia:
    Tom Price.

Declarations

  • I am not a member of any political party – although I was a member and active on the Dunedin Labour Local Government Committee in the 1980s.
  • I generally support the principles of the Labour Party and the Green Party.
  • I have no conflicting interests with the Otago Regional Council.
  • I am quadruple-vaccinated against COVID-19 and support mask-wearing.