AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL
MEDIA RELEASE

11 May 2006

New independent commissioners to boost council hearings panels

Five new independent commissioners appointed by Auckland City will bring new skills to a range of future council planning hearings.

Auckland City has a pool of independent commissioners who are employed to sit on various planning hearings, in particular hearings where council is the applicant, or when council has a vested interest, such as a financial or land ownership interest.

“The addition of these new independent commissioners will bring new skills to the current pool of independent commisioners, boosting the already considerable expertise of this group,” says Councillor Faye Storer, chairperson of Auckland City’s Planning Fixtures Committee which approved the appointments at its meeting on Tuesday.

“These new appointments offer a broad range of experience in areas including resource management, planning, coastal management and environmental matters.”
The new independent commissioners are:

- Les Simmons, who has over 30 years’ experience in planning and resource management matters

- Jenny Hudson, a resource management consultant with a wide range of experience including commercial, roading, district plan and utility projects

- Conway Stewart, who has 38 years’ experience as a professional planner and has a particular interest in coastal management

- Karyn Sinclair, a resource management planner with 19 years’ experience in the public and private sector

- Kathleen Ryan, a planner of many years’ experience who has also held management positions within the Ministry for the Environment.

ENDS

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