On 9 June 2025, the panel convener appointed the expert panel with a commencement date of 30 June 2025. The panel consists of:
Mary Hill (chair)
Mary Hill is a Tauranga-based resource management and local government lawyer with over 25 years’ experience. Mary advises both private and local government clients on all aspects of resource management law. She has chaired a panel under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020.
Mary is an independent statutory officer designated by local authorities under the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022, and is appointed to conduct independent investigations into local authority code of conduct breaches. In those roles she is required to follow the principles of natural justice to ensure fair and independent decision-making.
Mary is a former President of the Resource Management Law Association and an associate member of the New Zealand Planning Institute.
Philip Brown (member)
Philip is a planner with over 30 years’ experience in both the private and public sectors and is a full member of the New Zealand Planning Institute. He has worked for the last 15 years as a director in a planning consultancy. Philip is also an accredited commissioner and has been appointed to the Auckland Council’s pool of independent hearings commissioners and undertakes functions in that capacity on a regular basis.
Philip’s professional experience has encompassed a full range of planning and resource management matters including district plan development and the preparation and assessment of resource consent applications, notices of requirement for designations, and applications under Fast-track consenting legislation.
Richard Blakey (member)
Richard is a planner and director of Blakey Planning Limited. He has over 30 years’ experience in the areas of:
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 and the Auckland Council Urban Design Panel, and a hearing commissioner for a number of territorial authorities around New Zealand.
Richard has been an independent commissioner for Auckland Council since 2014, and has sat on over 90 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.
Register of interests
The register records all relevant panel members' interests. It is updated when necessary throughout the consenting process.