Members of the QEII National Trust have elected Graham Mourie and Marie Taylor to serve as Directors on the QEII Board. Graham has been re-elected for his third term and Marie has been elected as a new member of the Board, with their next three-year term effective from today.

“Thank you to everyone who took the time to make nominations and vote in the 2025 QEII Director Elections. We are delighted to have Graham Mourie back on the QEII board and to welcome Marie to our board of directors,” said Alan Livingston, Chairperson of QEII National Trust.

“I would also like to thank those who stood in the election. Members were given seven strong candidates for this election and the high calibre of candidates demonstrates the enthusiasm and commitment our members have for the work QEII does.”

This will be Graham Mourie’s third term serving on the Board. Graham has a farming background, with his first QEII covenant established on the family farm in Taranaki in the 1980s. An early adopter of riparian planting and pest management, Graham’s approach to farming alongside biodiversity was recognised with a Taranaki Regional Farm Environmental award in 2012.

Over his previous terms, Graham has focused on improving the financial sustainability of QEII and currently chairs the QEII Audit, Risk and Investment committee. He is also a Trustee of the Rugby Foundation and chair of the Rugby Stakeholders Panel. He is a former director of New Zealand Rugby and the World Rugby Board where he chaired the Rugby Committee. Graham is currently Director in charge of farming for Southern Pastures, an institutional dairy fund.

“Graham’s sound experience as a strategic thinker and background in farming with an environmental conscience make him a key member of our team. I am pleased to welcome him back for another term on our Board of Directors,” says Livingston.

Marie Taylor has been elected to serve the Board for the first time. Although Marie is new to our Board of Directors, she has a longstanding connection to the QEII National Trust and has experience in governance.

Marie was previously a rural journalist and then worked part-time as a QEII regional representative from 1992 until 2007 in the Nelson-Marlborough, West Coast and Hawke’s Bay regions.

Marie covenanted her lifestyle block at Bayview, Napier to protect pits and middens on the property, prevent subdivision, and protect indigenous restoration plantings on the site. She currently chairs New Zealand Plant Producers Inc, the nursery industry body, and the Hawke’s Bay Botanical Group, and is a trustee on The Gwavas – Puahanui Charitable Trust.

In 2018, Marie won the NZI Rural Women New Zealand Business Awards supreme award and in 2020 was awarded a QSM for horticulture and native revegetation. Marie set up and jointly owns Plant Hawke’s Bay, a native plant nursery growing ecosourced wholesale native plants near Napier.

“It is my pleasure to welcome Marie as our newest QEII Director. I know that with her strong knowledge of the role of QEII, her practical expertise as a plant producer and experience both in managing natural areas and in governance will be an important contributing voice on our Board,” says Livingston.

“I look forward to working with both new and returning members of our QEII Board of Directors, who all bring their unique approaches and views to our table. I am confident that we will continue to guide QEII National Trust on its work to help kiwis protect the places that are important to them,” says Livingston.

The QEII National Trust Board comprises of six members, four appointed by the Minister of Conservation and two elected by QEII National Trust members. There were seven candidates for the two positions.

1,882 votes were received, of which 55% voted by post and 45% voted online.