Justin Herbert has recently stepped into the role of Programme Lead of the PacificTA programme at Taituarā. Justin is focused on partnership, listening, and working alongside Pacific councils in ways that are right for their communities.
Justin has 20 years of programme and project management experience in central government, local government partnerships and major public sector organisations. He has a background in te ao Māori, including being a trustee and treasurer of his marae and working on iwi and hapū committees.
After taking on the PacificTA role just before Christmas, Justin was excited to travel to Fiji last week as the first of several relationship building visits. He was joined on the inaugural trip by Murray Staite who stepped in as Interim Programme Lead prior to Justin’s appointment to keep the Pacific TA programme on track.
The trip provided an important opportunity for face-to-face introductions, relationship-building, and continuity with Pacific partners.
“For me, it was really about connection,” Justin says. “We could have gone through a formal organisational assessment, but that can be quite arduous. Instead, we wanted to spend time with people, understand their issues, and talk about where we might genuinely be able to help.”
The visit included time with Suva City Council, where there is an established relationship, and Nasinu Town Council, a newer partnership. In Suva, Justin spent several days meeting with the chief executive and directors across the organisation to understand their priorities over the next three to five years. The visit to Nasinu was shorter but focused on setting the foundations for a strong working relationship.
Across both councils, Justin was struck by the scale and complexity of the challenges they face. Rapid population growth, pressure on infrastructure, and the growing impacts of climate change are shaping local government decision-making.
Waste collection was one challenge the Pacific council was dealing with. While rubbish may seem straightforward Justin observed that it’s a complex challenge shaped by rapid population growth, informal settlements, community behaviour, infrastructure capacity, and the increasing impacts of climate change.
“It’s not something that can be solved with one solution,” he says. “It’s about education, leadership, infrastructure, and making it easy for people to do the right thing.”
While councils are providing facilities such as bins and collection services, lasting change requires long-term behaviour change, community engagement, and solutions that are tailored to local realities.
A key challenge Justin sees in his new role is ensuring the PacificTA programme operates as a true partnership, working at the pace of its partners and supporting locally led solutions rather than expecting projects and solutions to run the same way as they have in New Zealand.
“They’re very clear about wanting Indigenous solutions that are right for their people,” he says. “We talk about partnership, and it really does have to mean listening first and shaping support around what will work in their context.”
Over the coming months, Justin will continue to travel to meet with other key Pacific partners with visits lined up to Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Murray will join him on these visits to ensure continuity of relationships and a smooth transition. Following these initial visits Justin will also look to connect will some of the smaller Pacific partners and build on previous projects.
Looking ahead, Justin’s immediate focus is on continuing to strengthen relationships through face-to-face engagement, while also building the foundations that support the programme behind the scenes. A particular priority is the technical advisor programme, which connects Pacific councils with experienced local government practitioners.
“Our technical advisors give their time and expertise voluntarily,” Justin says. “Making sure we support them well and match the right people to the right challenges is critical if we’re going to deliver real value for our partners.”
While Justin is keen to be seeing more of the Pacific in his role, he is clear about what motivates him most.
“At the end of the day, it’s about helping councils achieve what they want for their communities,” he says. “We’re helping them to make their communities more resilient, vibrant, and better places to live. That’s the really exciting part.”
