On 14 July 2025, the Tekapo Power Scheme expert consenting panel commenced work. The panel consists of:
Daniel Sadlier (Chairperson)
Daniel is a specialist environmental and planning lawyer, and partner at the law firm Ellis Gould. He over twenty years’ experience advising both private and public sector clients on a wide range of environmental law, planning and local government related issues.
He has prior experience in the environmental and planning team of a large corporate law firm, and as an in-house litigation lawyer at the country’s largest Council. Daniel is an accredited independent hearing commissioner.
Bianca Sullivan
Bianca is a planner with over 25 years’ of experience across a range consenting and policy processes. With a Bachelor of Science and Master of Applied Science, her focus has been on the management of natural resources, in particular water. She has worked for local government, central government and as a consultant.
Bianca is a certified RMA decision maker and has sat on panels for resource consent applications and policy processes across the country. She has experience of resource management issues in the Waitaki catchment, including through leading the 200-plus consent applications that were affected by Ministerial call-in from 2003.
Tony Cussins
Tony Cussins is a Director and Principal Environmental Consultant at Cussins Environmental Consulting. He has specialist expertise in water resources management, human health and environmental risk assessment, contaminant hydrogeology and contaminated land management. He has managed a wide range of water supply and hazardous waste projects in New Zealand, Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
Tony has provided expert evidence in resource consent hearings, the District Court, Environment Court and High Court. He also provided expert evidence at the Government Inquiry into the Havelock North drinking water. He is an accredited RMA Hearings Commissioner, with Chairing Endorsement. He has sat on a number of RMA and COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) panels throughout New Zealand.
Karen Coutts
Karen Coutts, Ngāi Tahu me Te Aitanga a Mahaki, is an experienced public servant having worked across health and then economic development and holds a Masters in Public Policy. She is now a director and consultant in the social and environmental sectors and has directorships across public and not-for-profit entities. Karen brings analysis grounded in a Māori worldview where cultural, social and environmental factors are to be equally balanced in order to achieve long-term fiscal sustainability. Karen previously served on Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and is actively connected to Waihao, Moeraki and Awarua rūnanga. She has been a previous director on a local lines transmission company in South Canterbury.