| Craig Pauling | |
| Order: | Chair of Environment Canterbury |
| Term Start: | 2024 |
| Predecessor: | Peter Scott |
| Order1: | Deputy Chair of Environment Canterbury |
| Term Start1: | October 2019 |
| Term End1: | October 2024 |
| Children: | 3 |
| Party: | Green |
Craig Pauling is a New Zealand politician. Pauling has represented Christchurch West/Ōpuna as a councillor for Environment Canterbury since 2019. He was elected chairperson of the regional authority in October 2024.
Pauling is of Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mutunga and European descent. He attended high school at Aranui High School and graduated from Lincoln University with a degree in environmental management. He later completed postgraduate qualifications in social science and ecology.
Pauling was first elected to Environment Canterbury as a councillor in 2019. He was re-elected in 2022.
In 2022 Pauling was one of two candidates nominated for the position of chair of the council, the other candidate being the incumbent Peter Scott. Eight councillors voted for each candidate, resulting in a tie that was broken by randomly drawing a name from a container. Peter Scott retained the chair and Pauling was unanimously appointed deputy chair.
In 2024 Peter Scott temporarily stood down as chairman after revealing during a radio interview that he was operating his farm without the necessary resource consents. Due to his position as deputy chair, Pauling served as acting chair during Scott's absence.
Later in 2024 it was revealed that a car provided to Peter Scott had been detected speeding 678 times, with a top recorded speed of . He again stood down from the chair, and Pauling took over as acting chair. Scott later resigned from the role of chairperson. In October 2024, the council unanimously appointed Pauling as the chair on a permanent basis. Deon Swiggs was appointed to be deputy chair.
Pauling is the father of three children. Pauling is a national and international waka ama (outrigger sea canoe) champion.
Pauling is fluent in te reo Māori.