On 17 August 2026, the Barrytown Minerals project expert panel commenced work. The panel consists of:
John Maassen (Chair)
John Maassen is a resource management and local government barrister with 40 years' experience. Throughout his career, John has acted for numerous local authorities and private entities on consent and plan-change processes. He was lead counsel in several important RMA cases in the Senior Courts, including Port Otago v EDS [2023] NZSC 112, Davidson v Marlborough District Council [2019] NZCA 316, and Attorney-General v The Trustees of the Motiti Rohe Moana Trust [2019] NZCA 532.
John has nearly 30 years of national experience as an RMA Commissioner and is a certified Chair. From 2005 to 2012, John was appointed as a foundational presenter to deliver nationwide Commissioner certification training on behalf of Ministry for the Environment (now Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport), in partnership with the University of Auckland.
John is a member of the Resource Management Law Association and of the Law Association of New Zealand’s Public and Administrative Law and Environment and Resource Management Committees.
Sharon Dines
Sharon Dines is a resource management planner with over 25 years of experience. She is the Principal Planner in her own company, a full member of the New Zealand Planning Institute, a member of the Resource Management Law Association and a member of the Women’s Infrastructure Network.
Sharon has assisted a number of expert consenting panels under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast Track Consenting) Act 2020 and Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 as a special advisor and facilitator of expert conferencing.
Sharon has also successfully managed a number of planning and resource consenting projects for large and often complex rural, industrial and infrastructure developments and has extensive plan development experience throughout New Zealand. She has represented clients at Council, Environment Court and Board of Inquiry levels.
Cameron Lines
Cameron Lines is an Engineering Geologist with over 25 years of experience working on large open cast mining and quarrying projects. He specialises in assessment of geotechnical risks in the extractives sector, including geotechnical design and operational support for mine sites in sand deposits similar to those that form the proposed resource for the Barrytown Minerals Project.
He has provided technical support to regulatory authorities when assessing consent applications and has developed and presented geotechnical evidence on behalf of both applicants and regional authorities at consent hearings and at the Environment Court. He is certified as an independent RMA hearing commissioner and has previously operated on expert panels for the Waihi North Project and SH1 Woodend Bypass project.
Cameron is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AUSIMM), the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG), and the New Zealand Geotechnical Society (NZGS). He is a Chartered Member of Engineering New Zealand (Professional Engineering Geologist).
Register of interests
The register records all relevant panel members' interests. It is updated when necessary throughout the consenting process.