First woman chair appointed to Fire & Emergency

Fire and Emergency, dogged for years by reports of bullying and harassment, has its first ever woman chairperson. Rebecca Keoghan has been appointed by the Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti to lead the board , taking over from the former Labour Minister Paul Swain. An independent review into the culture at FENZ, published in 2019, found bullying and harassment featured in the workplace at all levels and across all regions, but there were barriers to reporting it. There have been calls for a completely independent complaints body to be established to deal with claims of bullying and harassment, and the Professional Firefighters Union has said it has no faith in the current FENZ Chief Executive Rhys Jones. Jan Tinetti says Ms Keoghan's appointment is hugely significant and she will strongly push for culture change within FENZ.