Expert Panel

On 30 October 2025, the panel convener appointed the panel. The panel consists of:

Trevor Robinson (chair)

Trevor is a barrister, now practising from chambers in Napier after many years (prior to 2022) living and working in Wellington. Trevor has over 30 years' experience in environmental law. Prior to becoming a barrister in 2004, he was a partner in the Wellington office of Buddle Findlay.

Having acted for many years as an advocate specialising in acting as lead legal counsel on large complex consenting projects, Trevor has spent most of the last 10 years as a hearing commissioner on regional and district plans, and on consent applications. This has included his acting as commissioner and then chair on a number of sections of the Proposed Queenstown Lakes District Plan, as commissioner on Proposed Waikato Plan Change 1 (Healthy Rivers), and as chair on the Proposed Porirua and Wellington District Plans. He has also acted as chair of a hearing panel under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020 considering a proposal for a wind farm in South Auckland.

Trevor is a member of the Resource Management Law Association, the New Zealand Geothermal Association and the New Zealand Law Society’s Environmental Law Committee.

Ray O'Callaghan

Ray is a Chartered Professional Engineer with over three years’ experience as a consultant engineer and has been involved with a broad range of projects including land development, three waters, earthworks, coastal engineering, irrigation, and landfills and has provided expertise for the RMA approval aspects of these projects. Ray is a certified independent RMA Commissioner, a Fellow of Engineering New Zealand and a Life Member of ACENZ.

Ray has led several large projects through their RMA approvals process for both private and Local Authority clients, including Plan Changes and has been an expert witness for numerous planning Hearings and several Environment Court Hearings. Ray has also been an expert witness for several legal cases before the District and High Court, many of which have been settled at mediation. As a certified Independent RMA Commissioner, Ray has sat on a number of panels involving a range of proposed activities, usually where engineering technical matters have been complex. These have included NOR applications, large scale irrigation, discharge and/or coastal activities and complex land development proposals.

David McMahon

David is an experienced Resource Management Act practitioner.

He is a Certified Independent Commissioner. He has 30 years’ experience in urban and environmental planning, representing both public and private interests. He has extensive experience in decision-making. He sat on four EPA Boards of Inquiry from 2010 to 2014 and was the chair of two marine consent applications in 2014 and 2018.

In the last 15 years, David has taken on a wide range of relevant independent commissioner roles. Assignments have included determining regional plans, district plans, notices of requirement and resource consent applications. His specialty is in planning process, including environmental effects assessment, policy analysis and statutory interpretation.

Hoani Langsbury

Hoani Langsbury has been an independent Commissioner for over 15 years, he has been an active kaitiaki almost all his life. He has a background in environmental management and is the senior Ecological Consultant for Ngaio House Consulting, a small business he has operated with his wife based at Otakou since 2011.

He is an ecologist and conservationist with many years of experience supporting the community to achieve successful environmental outcomes. He is active member of the Otago Conservation community, with a diverse skillset and responsibilities, such as the Chair of the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Trust, and a founding trustee for Wild Dunedin Festival and Predator Free Dunedin.

He enjoys contributing to local community wellbeing, providing for the maintenance of community infrastructure, and ensuring that long term strategies blend environmental sustainability whilst ensuring social and economic benefits are realized.

Register of interests

The register records all relevant panel members' interests. It is updated when necessary throughout the consenting process.