On 2 February 2026, the panel convener appointed the expert panel with a commencement date of 25 February 2026. The panel consists of:
Daniel Minhinnick (chair)
Daniel Minhinnick is a Partner at Russell McVeagh. He has over 20 years' experience in Environment and Planning work, including significant experience across a wide range of major projects.
He also has extensive fast-track consenting experience, including as the chair of multiple expert consenting panels (including the recent Milldale project) and advising the applicant on a number of fast-track projects (recent examples include Bledisloe North Wharf and Fergusson North Berth Extension and Kings Quarry).
Daniel is a member of the Resource Management Law Association.
Amanda de Jong
Amanda is an environmental and planning specialist with 18 years' experience in regional and district consenting, policy development, policy implementation and compliance work within local government and the private sector. Amanda is an Associate member of the New Zealand Planning Institute and a certified hearing commissioner with chair's endorsement. Amanda has been a panel member on a range of district and regional consent applications since 2022, including an application considered under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast Track Consenting) Act 2020. Amanda is a member of the Resource Management Law Association and also provides training services to resource management practitioners across both the public and private sector.
Amanda has a broad range of experience across planning and environmental matters in both urban and rural settings, including resource use and urban development.
Ian Munro
Ian Munro is a senior, self-employed urban designer, planner and independent decision maker. He has approximately 25 years' of experience and has worked on over 3,000 projects across the country for Councils, developers, submitters, and other community groups. Ian has a Bachelor of Planning and Masters Degrees in Planning; Architecture [Urban Design]; Environmental Legal Studies; and Engineering Studies [Transportation]. Ian is a Full Member of the New Zealand Planning Institute and a Registered Urban Designer with the Urban Designers Institute Aotearoa.
Ian currently teaches urban design theory and practice as part of the University of Auckland's Master of Urban Design degree, and has co-presented the New Zealand Planning Institute's Urban Design for Planners CPD course for over 15-years.
Register of interests
The register records all relevant panel members' interests, and is updated, when necessary, throughout the consenting process.