Craig Pauling is a New Zealand politician. Pauling has represented

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

West/Ōpuna as a councillor for

Environment Canterbury Environment Canterbury, frequently abbreviated to ECan, is the promotional name for the Canterbury Regional Council. It is the regional council for Canterbury, the largest region in the South Island of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand's ...

since 2019. He was elected chairperson of the regional authority in October 2024.

Early life and education

Pauling is of

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...

Ngāti Mutunga Ngāti Mutunga is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, whose original tribal lands were in north Taranaki. They migrated, first to Wellington (with Ngāti Toa and other Taranaki hapū), and then to the Chatham Islands (along with Ngāti Tama) ...

and European descent. He attended high school at

Aranui High School Aranui High School was a large secondary school for years 9–13, in Christchurch, New Zealand. Aranui High School took its name from the suburb of Aranui, meaning 'big pathway' in Māori. Aranui High School was a coeducational alternative to ot ...

and graduated from Lincoln University with a degree in environmental management. He later completed postgraduate qualifications in social science and ecology.

Political career

Pauling was first elected to Environment Canterbury as a councillor in 2019. He was re-elected in 2022. In 2022 Pauling was one of two candidates nominated for the position of chair of the council, the other candidate being the incumbent

Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservation movement, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and Sportsperson, sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Fal ...

. Eight councillors voted for each candidate, resulting in a tie that was broken by randomly drawing a name from a container. Peter Scott retained the chair and Pauling was unanimously appointed deputy chair. In 2024 Peter Scott temporarily stood down as chairman after revealing during a radio interview that he was operating his farm without the necessary resource consents. Due to his position as deputy chair, Pauling served as acting chair during Scott's absence. Later in 2024 it was revealed that a car provided to Peter Scott had been detected speeding 678 times, with a top recorded speed of . He again stood down from the chair, and Pauling took over as acting chair. Scott later resigned from the role of chairperson. In October 2024, the council unanimously appointed Pauling as the chair on a permanent basis.

Deon Swiggs Deon William Swiggs (born 6 September 1986) is a New Zealand politician serving as the Environment Canterbury Councillor representing the Christchurch West/Ōpuna Regional Constituency. He previously served as the Christchurch City Councillor ...

was appointed to be deputy chair.

Personal life

Pauling is the father of three children. Pauling is a national and international waka ama (outrigger sea canoe) champion. Pauling is fluent in te reo Māori.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pauling, Craig Living people Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni People educated at Aranui High School Canterbury regional councillors Politicians from Christchurch Local politicians in New Zealand Year of birth missing (living people)