Minutes of the expert panel
10 February 2026 – Minute 6A
The expert panel issued Minute 6A regarding the earthworks expert conference and associated joint witness statement.
Minute 6A of the expert panel (PDF, 89KB)
3 February 2026 – Minute 7A
The expert panel issued Minute 7A amending the due date for responses to Minute 7. Responses must now be received by Monday 9 February 2026.
Minute 7A of the expert panel (PDF, 98KB)
23 January 2026
Minute 7
The expert panel issued Minute 7, regarding the ten new or amended national direction instruments under the Resource Management Act 1991, that came into effect on 15 January 2026.
Minute 7 of the expert panel (PDF, 107KB)
Minute 6
The expert panel issued Minute 6 regarding an earthworks expert conferencing session to be held.
Minute 6 of the expert panel (PDF, 147KB)
21 January 2026 – Minute 5
The expert panel issued Minute 5 regarding a landscape expert conferencing session to be held.
Minute 5 of the expert panel (PDF, 124KB)
19 December 2025 – Minute 4
The expert panel issued Minute 4 regarding requests for information to:
the Applicant
Southland District Council
Gore District Council
Southland Regional Council (Environment Southland).
Minute 4 of the expert panel (PDF, 101KB)
4 December 2025 – Minute 3
The expert panel issued Minute 3 regarding matters arising from the project overview conference for the Southland Wind Farm project.
Minute 3 of the expert panel (PDF, 124KB)
19 November 2025 – Minute 2
The expert panel issued Minute 2 to confirm the time and details for an in-person briefing from the applicant.
Minute 2 of the expert panel (PDF, 116KB)
19 November 2025 – Minute 1
The expert panel issued Minute 1 recording their decision on which parties are to be invited to comment.
Minute 1 of the expert panel (PDF, 765KB)
Correspondence to the expert panel
16 February 2026
On 16 February 2026, the applicant provided a joint witness statement of experts on the topic of earthworks in response to Minute 6 and Minute 6A of the expert panel.
Joint Statement of Experts – Earthworks (PDF, 357KB)
Responses to Minute 7
The expert panel received responses to their request for comments from invited parties, regarding the ten new or amended national direction instruments under the Resource Management Act 1991, that came into effect on 15 January 2026.
29 January 2026
The applicant provided a joint witness statement of experts on the topic of landscape, visual and natural character effects.
Joint Statement of Experts Landscape, Visual, and Natural Character Effects (PDF, 272KB)
Figure 1 – SWF – Entire Site (PDF, 9.9MB)
Figure 2 – SWF – Jedburgh Plateau (PDF, 10.8MB)
23 January 2026
Gore District Council provided a response to the panel's request for information recorded in Minute 4.
Gore District Council's response to the panel's request for information (PDF, 241KB)
21 January 2026
Southland District Council provided a response to the panel's request for information recorded in Minute 4.
Southland District Council's response to the panel's request for information (PDF, 131KB)
19 January 2026
Southland Regional Council (Environment Southland) provided a response to the panel's request for information recorded in Minute 4.
Environment Southland's response to the panel's request for information (PDF, 617KB)
12 December 2025
The applicant provided the following documents in response to Minute 3 of the expert panel.
Memorandum of counsel on behalf of the applicant in response to Minute 3 (PDF, 1.3MB)
Avifauna survey summary (PDF, 6.9MB)
Part B - Resource consent approvals application (PDF, 4.7MB)
Part I - Proposed resource consent approvals conditions (PDF, 921KB)
Part I02 - Proposed concession approvals conditions (PDF, 1.63MB)
Part I03 - Proposed wildlife act approval conditions (PDF, 723KB)
Part I04 - Proposed archaeological authority approval conditions (PDF, 151KB)
Part I05 - Proposed freshwater fisheries approvals conditions (PDF, 143KB)
Viewpoints, dwellings and noise contours (PDF, 2.5MB)
Memo NZ wind farm database (PDF, 974KB)
Memo stream flow at water takes sites (PDF, 1.3MB)
SWF Panel site visit: Jedburgh Stn (PDF, 13MB)
SWF Panel site visit: Regional area 50k topo (PDF, 8MB)
SWF Panel site visit: Regional area satellite (PDF, 4.7MB)
24 November 2025
The applicant provided a memorandum of counsel in advance of the overview conference.
Memorandum of counsel on behalf of the applicant in advance of the overview conference (PDF, 14MB)
Minutes of the panel convener
31 October 2025 − Minute regarding appointments and timeframe
The panel convener issued a minute regarding the expert panel appointments and the application timeframe.
Minute of the panel convener regarding panel appointments and timeframe (PDF, 243KB)
3 October 2025 – Minute 2
The panel convener issued Minute 2 regarding a conference to be held.
Minute 2 of the panel convener (PDF, 224KB)
3 October 2025 − Minute 1
The panel convener issued Minute 1 directing the EPA to obtain advice and a report from:
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (and the Māori Heritage Council)
the Department of Conservation.
The advice and reports are sought under s51 of the Fast-Track Approvals Act 2024.