On 29 September 2025, the expert consenting panel commenced work. The panel consists of:
Sue Simons (chair)
Sue Simons is a specialist environmental and resource management lawyer and a director at the boutique environmental law firm, Berry Simons.
Sue is a highly experienced litigator and has gained national recognition for her expertise in every aspect of this area of law. She has led precedent-setting and ground-breaking cases in many areas within her specialty. Sue regularly represents clients at council hearings, in the Environment Court, District Court and High Court. She has appeared before several Boards of Inquiry on matters of national significance.
Sue is frequently called upon to provide high-level opinions on complex resource management, local government and environmental issues.
Richard Blakey
Richard is a planner and director of Blakey Planning Limited. He has over 30 years’ experience:
coastal and urban planning
planning assessments
special housing areas
development planning
a wide range of other resource management matters.
Richard is a member of the NZ Planning Institute, a Chairperson for the Auckland Council Urban Design Panel, and a hearing commissioner for a number of territorial authorities around New Zealand. He has been a member of (and advisor to) a number of Fast-track expert panels since 2021.
Richard has been an independent commissioner for Auckland Council since 2014, and has sat on over 100 hearing panels as both a panel member and chair. He understands the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi and te ao Māori, and applies those in hearings where relevant and appropriate. He holds the Making Good Decisions accreditation with a 31 December 2026 expiry date.
Nigel Mark-Brown
Nigel Mark-Brown is a civil/environmental engineer. Mr. Mark-Brown has over 45 years’ experience in the areas of: environmental and civil engineering; coastal inundation; stormwater discharges; wastewater discharges; flood protection; river diversion; landfills; quarries; site remediation and general planning matters. He has wide ranging civil and three waters engineering expertise and has sat on a large number of consent hearings for Auckland Council and other councils throughout New Zealand. He has also been a member of a Board of Enquiry panel and provided expert reports on stormwater and flooding matters for Fast Track consent applications.
Mr. Mark-Brown is a member of Engineering NZ, International Professional Engineers Register (NZ), a member of NZ Water and NZ Sustainability Society. He has a good understanding of te ao Māori and Māori development and holds the Making Good Decisions accreditation with a 30 June 2027 expiry date.
Register of interests
The register records all relevant panel members' interests. It is updated, when necessary, throughout the consenting process.