The New Zealand Beverage Council was delighted to announce the appointment of Belinda Milnes as the Government Relations and Public Affairs Director following Emily Fuller’s return to the USA. Milnes joins the council with over two decades of experience working in the highest level of government and relationships across a wide range of agencies and sectors.
Responsible for Government Relations, Public Affairs, Communications, Issues and Events, Milnes will work closely with the Executive and our member committees to build and protect the reputation of the beverages sector in New Zealand.
Most recently, she was Deputy Chief of Staff for both Bill English and Simon Bridges before leaving Parliament in 2020.
Milnes has spent more than ten years working in Ministers’ offices, including as a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister, and has worked across 14 portfolios from Finance and Environment to Tourism and Social Development.
She joins the team three days a week, working between her 120-acre dry stock farm in the South Wairarapa and her Wellington office.
