New board chairman for Fenz as minister seeks ‘rigorous governance’
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Less than a week after Fire and Emergency NZ fronted up to a select committee about issues with its fleet the Minister for Internal Affairs has announced the chairperson of the organisation’s board has been replaced.
Raveen Jaduram took over the role from Rebecca Keoghan on Tuesday after she had served on the board since 2019, as both deputy chairperson and chairwoman.
She and other top brass attended a session with the select committee on Thursday last week after being invited back to provide answers for a parliamentary inquiry looking into the state of the ageing fire appliance fleet.
Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden said Jaduram had a depth of experience across infrastructure and would be invaluable to Fenz.
She said the board chairperson played a critical role in ensuring the board held Fenz senior staff to account for “organisational performance, financial management and the delivery of strategic outcomes”.
“Fire and Emergency provides essential frontline services that all New Zealanders rely on, and are funded by levies through property that is insured against the risk of fire,” the minister said.
“Because of the nature of the organisation, the board is expected to be highly accountable, maintain responsible financial management, and ensure strong service-delivery standard.”
Her expectations of the board included “active and rigorous governance” over any investment in fire appliances, including maintaining a multi-year investment pipeline that aligned with the organisation’s operational needs.
Ōtaki MP Tim Costley also wanted to know what the board had done to hold Fenz to account after he was given “conflicting, concerning and confusing” answers in response to questions about why type 3 appliances bought many years ago were not yet operational.
He asked Keoghan at Thursday’s meeting if she was getting the same answers he was, and if so did she find that concerning.
She did, and said the board had conveyed this to staff, but she did not accept the answers given were wrong or intended to mislead anyone.
“I acknowledge the previous answers have created confusion…for that we apologise.”
Costley also asked why she did not appear at the earlier hearing, instead choosing to send other staff who could not provide the clarification he sought.
“The perception is that those staff were thrown under the bus.”
She said that was not the intention, but in hindsight knew it was not the right decision. She said the board had been “working hard” on fleet issues long before the inquiry was launched.
“We spent a lot of time setting up asset management plans, and looking at what is appropriate for the organisation.”
Van Velden said Keoghan had also implemented many other positive changes during her time on the board and had seen it through a critical time after the 2017 amalgamation.
“She has supported the organisation through its post-amalgamation phase, strengthening its structure and advancing important work on workplace culture and organisational integrity.”
Jaduram came from a background of “infrastructure governance, financial oversight, and system stewardship”, and was the chairman of several other Crown boards.