Dr Andy Asquith is a Faculty Member for AcademyGlobal and an unashamed local government scholar with a passion for good local governance and evidence based policy making. He has lectured in universities in several countries: the UK; Russia; Fiji; New Zealand and Australia. Prior to arriving in Australia, he was Director of the Public Management Group at Massey University in New Zealand.

At Massey he led the development of the Master of Public Administration programme which was a unique course designed to upskill the local government sector, designed in partnership with peak bodies: Local Government New Zealand; Taituarā Local Government Professionals Aotearoa and the Public Service Association.

He has stood for election to local councils on four occasions, twice in the UK in the 1990s and more recently in NZ, where in 2019 he contested the Palmerston North Mayoralty and was 47 votes short of being elected to the City Council and much to the relief of those within City Hall!

In Australia he is seeking to pivot this expertise and experience into the fascinating study of local government, with a determination to identify best practice and disseminate it throughout the sector. As an academic, his expert commentary on local government is sought out by national and local government, professional associations, media organisations and citizens on both sides of the Tasman.