A regional council can choose to appoint a harbourmaster for any port, harbour, or waters in its area. You can think of a harbourmaster as someone who helps keep people safe on the water. The council might decide to appoint a harbourmaster on its own, or it might be told to do so by the Minister, who is a government official.

If the Minister tells a regional council to appoint a harbourmaster, the council must do so. The Minister's instruction must be in writing, which means it has to be a formal document.

When a regional council appoints a harbourmaster, it needs to make sure the person is qualified to do the job, unless there are already rules that say what qualifications are needed, which are called maritime rules.