On 8 September 2020, the panel convener appointed the panel to decide the application. The panel consists of:

John Hardie (Chair)

John lives in Christchurch, where he has been a practising barrister and mediator for over 20 years. Much of his practise has been in the field of environmental law. He is a Fellow of the Australasian mediation organisation The Resolution Institute, and a member of Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand (AMINZ).

John has been undertaking mediation work for the Government dealing with weathertight home issues since the inception of the Weathertight Homes Tribunal and mediation service in 2002. He is on the AMINZ Earthquake Commission (EQC) and Environmental Panels.

In 2013 he was appointed as a member of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority Compensation Panel. He is also Legal Adviser to the Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service (GCCRS), set up by the Government to deal with outstanding earthquake related claims. This offers both facilitation and determination outside of the Court process.

Dora Langsbury (Panel member)

Dora became an independent Resource Management Act (RMA) commissioner in 2017. She has a comprehensive background in business, education and in her community.

Over the last 40 years she has been serving her community in a variety of roles from chair to secretary, treasurer, trustee, consultant, and active member of a range of organisations, both locally, regionally as well as nationally. These range from her iwi, runanga, her local marae (Rehua), charitable trusts, social service agencies, sporting groups and Christchurch post-quake community initiatives.  

Initially training as a primary school teacher, she moved into the information and communications sector (ICT) sector as a marketing executive and business consultant, serving in both domestic and international capacities. On her return to New Zealand, Dora worked as a business consultant at Ngāi Tahu. She then switched her focus to kaupapa Māori education, primarily in the tertiary sector. She started as a business tutor at Te Wananga o Aotearoa, before moving into student support. At Te Tapuae o Rehua, Dora project managed contracts on behalf of the Ministry of Education. She is currently the Learning Advisor Māori at Ara Institute of Canterbury.

David Mountfort (Panel member)

David has acted as an independent RMA Hearing Commissioner on numerous occasions, on district plans, plan changes, notices of requirement and consent applications. He initially trained in law, gaining an LLB degree and then changed to planning gaining a Diploma in Town Planning.

Initially working for the former Ministry of Works, he moved into policy, planning and management roles for the Gisborne District and Christchurch City Councils before commencing practice as a consultant and Hearings Commissioner in 2009. He works mainly in the public sector but has also obtained resource consents and presented evidence on plan matters for private clients.

David is experienced in a very wide range of topics at both district and regional levels, including both urban and rural, in both the natural and physical environments. He has a particular interest in urban growth matters and has recently considered numerous medium and higher density housing proposals in Christchurch.

Register of interests

The register records all relevant panel member's interests and is updated when necessary throughout the consenting process. 

View the register of interest updated on 14 September 2020 (PDF, 225KB)