Our People

Our consulting staff are a cross-section of qualified engineers, accountants and project managers who have significant combined experience across the spectrum of local government services.

Malcolm Morrison

Director. Malcolm has developed a well recognised expertise in solving operational, strategic and governance issues within councils. He has worked extensively in this field in relation to most services provided by councils and consequently has access to a large database of performance measures and solutions. Malcolm has extensive experience in general and commercial management in large and small firms and has also owned and managed international contracting companies in private enterprise. This experience has developed his expertise in optimising business and governance issues by using the best available private enterprise solutions in a local government environment. Malcolm has provided and implemented innovative solutions for local government throughout New South Wales, Queensland and New Zealand.

Doug Low

Director. Doug is a founding director of Morrison Low and a civil engineer with significant experience in managing major infrastructure and development projects, procurement in a government/local government setting, strategic and general management and organisational change. He has held senior management positions in large public bodies and has a track record of getting results using practical solutions while retaining a strategic view. His experience in programme management of transport and wastewater services is extensive. Doug has undertaken many reviews of service delivery in infrastructure and regulatory services and worked closely with clients to implement innovative changes to governance and service delivery models to achieve improved performance. Doug has particular expertise in the areas of governance effectiveness, organisation performance, capability assessment, procurement and regulatory processes.

Ewen Skinner

Director. Ewen has extensive experience within the local government market in both New Zealand and Australia. He is a qualified civil engineer with post-graduate business qualifications and has been involved in a wide variety of projects for councils ranging from organisational and governance reviews through to infrastructure development and complex procurement and project management initiatives. Ewen leads the waste management and sustainability team and is recognised as a leader in this field. He has been instrumental in the development of a number of best practice documents for both central and local government in New Zealand. Ewen has been involved in a number of complex shared services projects involving multiple councils and stakeholders which have achieved significant benefits for our clients in terms of achieving cost efficiencies whilst minimising risk and optimising service delivery.

Peter Johnson

Director. Peter has more than 30 years experience in the delivery of project, operations and asset management and engineering/design services to local government and commercial clients in the water, wastewater and solid waste sectors in the UK and in New Zealand. His experience extends from providing high level strategic reviews to resolving detailed operational and design issues. Peter is an expert in the preparation and management of procurement/contract strategies and contract documentation and in the management and resolution of contract claims and disputes and in the development of risk based capital programmes and asset management strategies and systems for solid waste, water and wastewater assets.

Stephen Bunting

Director. Stephen brings 28 years of local government experience to Morrison Low, almost all of which has been in senior or executive management positions. During this time he has developed a considerable knowledge in the management of community assets, services and operations. Stephen also has experience in cross organisational projects, in particular the development of community plans, community engagement strategies and associated implementation processes. He has been instrumental in establishing a framework to integrate these plans with other resourcing and operational strategies. Linked with this integration, Stephen has helped councils develop corporate and operational plans including the establishment of clear service levels for the delivery of services. In Queensland and New South Wales, Stephen has assisted a number of councils with operational reviews for a variety of council activities. He is involved in industry sector groups in both local government management and the recreation sector and has presented at a number of conferences in Queensland and New South Wales on integrated planning.

Tim McCarthy

Director. Tim is an experienced council engineer with over twenty years experience working in a number of NSW councils. He has significant expertise in asset management, project delivery processes, maintenance operations and contract management. Throughout Tim's career he has been focused on sustainable asset management practices in councils. Tim has undertaken a wide range of asset management work. His hands on knowledge of how a wide range of councils go about asset management and the link between assets, operations and financial management are invaluable. He has been responsible for a significant number of projects including asset management, gap analysis, improvement plans, strategic asset management and service level reviews. In other roles Tim has implemented asset management systems and ensured that sustainable asset management practices are embedded in organisations. In recent times Tim has undertaken a number of operational and service reviews for councils. Drawing on his extensive experience in operational management a number of service reviews have been carried out which provide immediate efficiencies and cost savings to organisations. Some of these reviews have included depot services, fleet management, waste services and street cleansing operations. For a number of years Tim has been responsible for the management of large numbers of employees. He has been trained as a return to work coordinator and is fully aware of responsibilities of both the employer and employee in work place issues. Tim has completed units of study in human resource management and has tertiary qualifications in engineering, management and law. Tim is NAMS accredited to assist councils in the delivery of the NAMS product.

David Taylor

Associate. David leads the commercial consulting practice of Morrison Low. He has wide ranging experience in leading strategic and operational change in the financial services industry and in public sector organisations. David has operated as advisor, change manager, innovator, and in senior managerial roles. He previously managed the formation of The Warehouse Financial Services, led strategy and change management at Countrywide Bank, was a business consulting partner at Ernst & Young for many years, and an executive in an international building supply company. David is a chartered accountant and certified management consultant.

Bruce Nicholson

Senior Consultant.  Bruce brings 25 years of local government experience to Morrison Low, almost all of which has been in senior management positions. During this time he has developed a considerable knowledge in spatial and area planning, strategic asset management, change management, community and project development. Bruce also has extensive experience in cross organisational projects, in particular the development of spatial plans, asset development plans and community plans with strong community and stakeholder engagement.  He has been instrumental in establishing a framework to integrate these plans with other resourcing and operational strategies. Linked with this integration, Bruce has helped councils develop activity plans including the establishment of clear service levels for the delivery of services.  Bruce has assisted local government with operational reviews for a variety of council activities. Recently he was seconded to the Auckland Transition Authority to assist in setting up the planning structure and function for the new Auckland Council.

Gary Kellar

Senior Consultant. Gary has extensive experience in Queensland local government serving some twenty-six years as Chief Executive Officer of the State's third largest city. During that time he presided over budgets of up to $260 million on an asset base of $1.6 billion and secured the Council's long term financial sustainability through highly effective resource strategies. With considerable experience in leading high performance teams in complex local government environments Gary brings the added bonus of the keen eye of a skilled local government executive to Morrison Low projects. Gary has amassed a wealth of knowledge in dealing with complex and often controversial local issues, and at the same time has been a strong contributor to the development of significant regional collaborative initiatives. With a long term high profile in the professional sphere of local government, Gary is well respected for his commitment to the local government industry in Queensland and has recently been assisting councils here implement organisational change resulting from amalgamations. Recent assignments with the firm have included assisting councils to recruit executive staff, facilitating strategic planning workshops, policy and local law framework reviews, risk management frameworks, information systems strategies, governance frameworks for business enterprises and organisational reviews.

Ritz Van Hall

Senior Consultant. Ritz is an experienced consultant with exceptional people skills who specialises in organisational change, business process improvement and quality management. Ritz has a strong background in project management, staff training and getting staff to successfully endorse and implement change programmes for effectiveness and efficiency.

Dan Bonifant

Senior Consultant. Dan is an experienced public sector lawyer who has spent seven years working in central and local government organisations in both NZ and the UK. During his two and half years working as a senior lawyer at the London Borough of Brent Dan was particularly focussed on corporate governance and constitutional matters while also advising the Council on the implications of climate change and sustainability based policy initiatives and legislation. When working for central government bodies, the Ministry of Fisheries and the Department for Work and Pensions, he was responsible for the legal input into the development of policy, drafting and implementation of a number of key pieces of legislation. Dan's work at Morrison Low now includes a broad spectrum of advice based on his areas of expertise in governance, sustainability, project management and local government law. Dan has advised on a number of projects involving the creation or use of CCO/CCTOs to deliver services to the community including appropriate governance and control mechanisms. He is currently heavily involved in projects relating to reorganisation of local government in multiple regions across New Zealand and has a good understanding of the processes required for reorganisation by the Local Government Act 2002.

Angela McDonald

Consultant. Angela is a chartered accountant with a wide range of accounting and consulting experience in both private and public sectors. Angela has a varied background which includes management accounting, financial modelling, audit, consulting, payroll and business services. As a consultant for Morrison Low, Angela has specialised in assisting councils in both New Zealand and Australia with long term financial strategies as well as providing project management and accounting assistance through the annual planning, annual reporting process and other general financial work. Angela has also participated in business analysis and improvement projects.

Rosamond Connelly

Consultant.  Rosamond Connelly has had six years experience working as a policy analyst, within both the central and local government agencies and within the not-for-profit sector. She has a particular interest in regulatory design, particularly related to natural resources and sustainability. Her skill set also includes contract management, public administration, asset management planning, project management and community development. Rosamond has provided advice on a number of significant pieces of public policy including occupational regulation, consumer dispute resolution, reform of the financial services sector, waste minimisation and the emissions trading scheme. During her time in local government, Rosamond's experience included the development of an organisation-wide asset management framework, project managing the establishment of a youth facility and production of a waste assessment. Rosamond's master's thesis looked at industry-led regulation in a consumer protection context. For this work she was awarded the Laurie Cameron Scholarship for research into the relationship between the public and private sectors

Sue Hamilton

Consultant. Sue is experienced in project management, in particular working with a number of local government services. She has strong technical expertise in solid waste management. Her skill base also covers service procurement, contract management, policy development, negotiation, administrative processes, environmental education, customer service resolution and public consultation.

William Auton

Consultant. Will provides research and analysis support in a wide variety of projects. Hailing from a background in human geography, public economics and politics, Will has a broad skill base, readily transferable in his varying roles with Morrison Low. Will exhibits strengths in research, analysis, problem solving, documentation, team leadership and process management, often utilised as project manager or as project support in one of his specialist areas. He has also gained significant experience in waste management, being involved in several waste operations and analysis projects since joining Morrison Low in 2008. Will has a keen interest in politics and public economics and brings these interests with him to ensure a robust and successful outcome for both the client and community.

Matt Fyffe

Consultant.  Matt has considerable experience consulting to local government in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, particularly in the establishment of governance bodies, procurement of asset and network management services. Matt has been involved in numerous projects project managing the delivery of services and assets, the project management of change in public sector service delivery and the analysis and development of long term financial planning and asset management plans. Matt is a qualified lawyer with an in depth knowledge of the legal and planning frameworks within local government. He specialises in providing advice and support to public sector clients on appropriate governance and management structures at strategic and project implementation stages. Matt also has in-depth experience in public sector procurement project management, including developing policy and strategy, drafting procurement documentation and project managing the procurement process. Matt has returned to Morrison Low after two and half years in the UK, where he worked for Capita Symonds Ltd, a major property and infrastructure company as a senior project manager. There he advised and undertook project management for both public and private sector organisations on development projects, including procurement strategy, project management, funding and project risk

Michael Tarn

Consultant.  Michael Tarn has strong conceptual and analytical skills, successfully providing research and operational support to a wide variety of projects. Michael has previous experience working with underprivileged communities in the international development sector, where he gained a unique understanding of strategic policy and stakeholder engagement. Since joining Morrison Low, Michael has gained experience in the development of community and economic profiles, as well as the regional business plans. He has considerable interest in community and economic development, strategy policy and sustainability. He is highly motivated and demonstrates a unique approach achieving results for both the client and community.

Randall Potter

Consultant. Randall has a background as an investigative journalist and researcher with considerable experience working across New Zealand's political, economic and media sectors.  Randall is skilled in project coordination and stakeholder liaison and has a keen interest in strategic policy and trend forecasting. He brings strong research and analysis experience and excellent communication skills which he employs in a broad number of support roles within the Morrison Low team.

Kerry Spicer

Consultant. Kerry is an experienced Project Manager, responsible for all stages of the project lifecycle for multi stakeholder projects requiring cross divisional teams.  Kerry's previous projects predominantly relate to Asset Integrity Management, during which she supported her client base to achieve compliance in the heavily regulated Oil, Gas and Utilities sectors.  Formerly working for a technical consultancy, Kerry has been involved in risk based assessment, data interrogation and statistical analysis, life cycle cost modelling of asset management strategies, and design and implementation of software solutions.  Kerry has also completed an MBA at Manchester Business School, being particularly interested in Strategy, Operations Management and Change Management.

Coreen Adamson

Consultant. Coreen Adamson has extensive experience working for local and central government in NZ and the UK.  During this time she has developed considerable knowledge in the areas of strategic planning, spatial planning, strategy and policy development, governance, monitoring and evaluation.  Most recently Coreen has taken a lead role in the development of Auckland Council's draft Spatial Plan: The Auckland Plan.  Prior to this, Coreen was responsible for developing a capacity for growth model to inform Manukau City Council's draft Spatial Plan, Long-Term Plan and Asset Management Plans. During the local government amalgamation in Auckland, Coreen played a key role in assisting the Auckland Transition Agency to develop a governance framework for local boards and to put in place arrangements to ensure the effective operation of local boards.  Coreen also provided policy advice on governance reform options and implications to Manukau City Council.