As I am sure you are aware, I have been fortunate enough to be elected as your new NZISM President. For the first time in our history, we had a contested election. Great! That means that more of us are prepared to put our hands up and become involved. Joining me at the Board level are Robyn Bennett (our immediate past president) and Tom Reeves. I want to say a big thank you to two stalwarts of the Board, Mike Cosman and Grant Nicholson, who have both reached maximum terms and are stepping down. Thankfully, neither are drifting too far from us and I am sure you will see them pop up in the near future. A huge thank you gentlemen.

I thought it might be a good time to tell you about myself. I am a consultant based in Taupo. My customer base is a mix of locals, companies in other regions and around NZ. I also have a couple of fixed contracts overseas. I have been in Safety for just on 20 years and my journey has been a strange one, from my first role as a safety advisor on a drilling rig - which I got after a job interview at a café, where the two people interviewing me never actually told me it was an interview!

I grew up in little town called Mangakino and from a young age I had a strong push to help others. This came from my parents - Dad was a union rep and Mum was a nurse. At 15 I joined the local Fire Brigade to assist in the station house. I later moved onto the appliances and did 4 years as a fireman before heading off to study. And that kicked off a lifelong passion for work in a host of roles in clubs and organisations. When I joined NZISM, I saw the webinars and wanted to be involved. It was actually because there were always lots of questions I wanted to ask!

There is a webinar tomorrow (Thur 15/5/25) to hear a bit more about my background and my hopes for NZISM (along with Robyn and Tom’s). I would encourage you to sign in and get to know us all a little better.

My big goal for my term is to keep NZISM growing and to develop each and every one of you to be the best you can be with some new pathways. I have some projects that I want to get off the ground when the time is right. So, keep an eye on these newsletters!

To wrap up for now I have one request, and that is to keep up the great work you do. We all known those cowboys who still flaunt the rules, but let’s keeping fighting the good fight. I know it’s frustrating at times but trust me, it’s worth the fight. It saves lives.

Mā te wa

Karl Berendt
NZISM President

If you wish to contact me, please do so by email at president@nzism.org