On 11 May 2021, the panel convener appointed the panel to decide the application. The panel consists of:

Derek Nolan (Chair)

Derek Nolan will chair the panel for the Nola Estate application. He is a Queen’s Counsel with over 40 years’ experience in environmental, resource management, planning and natural resources law, local government law and in public works claims. Derek was a partner at Russell McVeagh for 30 years before moving to the Bar in 2014. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 2016.

Derek was a founder and second President of the Resource Management Law Association of New Zealand. He is a former Vice-Chairman of the Environmental Law Committee of the Business Law Section of the International Bar Association and was for many years a member and convenor of the Environmental Law Committee of the NZ Law Society. Derek is the editor and an author of Environment and Resource Management Law (LexisNexis). 

Richard Blakey (Member)

Richard Blakey has over 25 years of experience in planning and resource management related matters, primarily within the Auckland region. Richard has significant experience in both the public and private sectors in preparing and assessing a wide range of resource consent applications.

Richard has a Chairing Endorsement certificate from the Ministry for the Environment and has been a member of the Auckland Council’s panel of independent hearing commissioners since 2014.   

Vicki Morrison-Shaw (Member)

Vicki has broad experience in the environmental, Māori and local government sectors having worked in private practice, in-house and policy/iwi consultation roles. Vicki has led project teams for new developments. She has advised and represented regulatory authorities, applicants and interested parties in relation to designations, heritage authorities, resource consents, marine consents, plan and policy changes.

She has appeared as counsel at all levels of the Courts - from first instance council and Environmental Protection Authority hearings through each of the appeal court levels up to and including the Supreme Court. 

Vicki has advised on a wide range of strategic issues and participated in due diligence, public works, leasing and a range of Māori law processes including marine and coastal area applications, cultural management plans, Treaty settlement processes, and representation process issues in the Māori Land Court.

Vicki is a certified Making Good Decisions commissioner and co-author of the original Māori Values Supplement for the Making Good Decisions Commissioners Training Programme. Vicki has affiliations to Ngāpuhi iwi and is currently studying Te Reo Māori at AUT.