Queenstown barrister John Matthews has been appointed chairman of commissioners by the Queenstown Lakes District Council following former convener Neville Marquet's retirement.
The new role meant Mr Matthews had resigned from his position as Lakes Environmental director, having been appointed on the inaugural board in March 2007.
QLDC chief executive Duncan Field said the new role would require Mr Matthews to deal with Lakes Environmental senior management on a daily basis, which would be "inconsistent with a governance role".
On that basis, the board and council had accepted Mr Matthew's resignation.
Mr Matthews will take up his new position this week to continue to establish and maintain a level of accountability between the council and commissioners for decisions made on behalf of the council and the community.
Mr Field said the council was "raising the bar" on what it did and enhancing the level of quality control.
Mr Matthews would undertake a review of hearing processes and ongoing monitoring and review of decisions.
"We think it is important to continue to give our community a level of comfort that the rules are being applied fairly and evenly.
"You only reach that position if you have one person taking a comprehensive overview of all decisions," Mr Field said.
Mr Matthews, also a senior commissioner, said he was looking forward to working with other commissioners to achieve the council-specified outcomes.
Mr Field said the council was "more than delighted" Mr Matthews had accepted the role, which would be challenging.
