Principal Judge John Bollard graduated in law from Auckland University in 1963; M Jur (with distinction) 1980. He practised as barrister and solicitor in Auckland as a partner in the firm Brookfield Prendergast & Co. (until 1984), and in Brandon-Brookfield (1984-87). He practised extensively in local authority and administrative law prior to appointment as a Judge of the Planning Tribunal (as it then was) in 1988. He has been invited to speak and present papers at various forums, including the Commonwealth Law Conference in 1993. He is based at Auckland. Judge Bollard was appointed Principal Environment Judge in April 2003.

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Judge Brian Dwyer was appointed to the Environment Court on 1 September 2006.

Judge Dwyer was admitted to the bar in 1973 and is based in the Wellington Registry of the Court. Prior to his appointment, he was the Marlborough District Law Society's President from 1990 to 1991. He also served on the Marlborough Health Trust, St Mary's School Board of Trustees and on the Marlborough Rugby Football Union Executive. As counsel to the Marlborough District Council since 1992, his work involved him in all aspects of resource management practice. He has also been an independent hearings commissioner for local authorities in Kaikoura, Nelson and Marlborough.

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Judge Jon Jackson was appointed a District Court Judge and Environment Judge on 6 September 1996. Judge Jackson was admitted to the Bar in 1978 and practised in Christchurch for one year before moving to Nelson where he was a partner in a law firm. He has extensive experience in civil litigation and resource management work. He is a member of the Resource Management Law Association and an Associate of the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of NZ. He is a former Member of the Nelson District Law Society Committee. He is based at Christchurch.

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Appointed an Environment Judge in August 2001, Judge Laurie Newhook, graduated from Auckland University with an LLB(Hons) in 1972 and was admitted to the Bar the same year. From 1976 he was a partner of law firm Brookfields and antecedent firms. He practised in resource management, local government and general litigation. The general litigation component had an emphasis on land, maritime matters, construction law and mediation/arbitration work.

In the areas of planning, resource management and local government he acted for councils, landowners, developers, iwi, community groups and environmental groups. The Judge is an Associate of the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand and a member of the Resource Management Law Association.

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Judge Jeff Smith was appointed to the Court in July 2000. He is based at Christchurch. He was born in Rotorua and completed his education at Kamo High School, Whangarei. He holds an LLB from Auckland University, obtained in 1981, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators London (associate from 1986) and a Foundation Associate of the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand. He practised in Tauranga from 1981, first with Sharp Tudhope, and from 1995 until his appointment in 2000 as a Barrister, sole.

He is a very keen piano player and has played professionally and semi-professionally since his youth. The two main bands he has played with were Jazz-A-Plenty, a Dixieland Jazz Band and a Christian Gospel Band, Crosstalk. He is married to Jane (B.A., Dip.Tchg.) and they have two children.

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Judge Craig Thompson was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor in 1974, and was then engaged in private practice in Blenheim and Wellington as a general litigator but with some emphasis on mining and water and soil issues. He was appointed Crown Counsel in the Crown Law Office in 1983 and Deputy Solicitor-General for New Zealand in 1985. He was a member of the Legislation Advisory Committee from its inception until his appointment as a District Court Judge in 1992. He was the District Court representative on the Criminal Practice Committee, 2000-2003; from 1997 to 2003 he was a joint author and editor of the Criminal Jury Trials Benchbook for the New Zealand Judiciary; and is the Consulting Editor (with Judge TM Abbott) of Abbott and Thompson District Courts Practice (Criminal) published by LexisNexis. He was appointed an Alternate Environment Judge in 2001 and has been a full-time Environment Judge since August 2003.

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Judge Gordon Whiting is based in the Environment Court at Auckland. Judge Whiting graduated BA(Economics) and LLB from Otago University in 1967 and was admitted to the Bar in 1968. He has a Certificate in Mediation from Harvard University and is a Fellow of the NZ Arbitration and Mediation Institute.

He is a former Chairman of Partners in a Whangarei legal firm and specialised in civil and commercial litigation, criminal jury trials, town planning, resource management and tribunals.

He is a former member of the Auckland District Law Society's Disciplinary Committee, a former Northland Council representative on the ADLS and a former Convenor of the Northland Courts' Committee.

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Bio under construction.

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Judge Shonagh Kenderdine graduated MA(Hons) from the University of New Zealand (Otago) 1960, and LLB from Auckland University 1980. She was a Teaching Fellow and junior lecturer in history at the University of Sydney and Victoria University of Wellington prior to becoming a lawyer. From 1981-1986 she practised in environmental law in the state and private sector (including BP New Zealand) before becoming Senior Crown Counsel in the Crown Law Office. She was appointed a Planning (now Environment) Judge in 1990. She is based in Wellington. Judge Kenderdine has given papers at numerous conferences, both here and overseas.

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Judge Frederick McElrea was appointed as a District Court Judge on 31 May 1988 and still sits in its civil and criminal jurisdictions. He was also a Youth Court Judge from 1990-2001. He graduated MA(Hons) LLB Otago, LLM(London), Dip Criminology(Cantab). He was appointed as an Alternate Environment Judge in 2001.

In 1970-1988 he was a Partner in a major Auckland law firm, specialising in town and country planning and civil litigation. He was co-author of Butterworths' District Court Practice (Civil) 1996-2004 and co-author McElrea & Willy District Courts Manual (2001, 2003).

Judge McElrea is an active member of St Aidans parish, Remuera, Auckland and a keen sailor.

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Judge David Sheppard was appointed a Judge of the Planning Tribunal in May 1980 following many years law practice in Auckland in planning and local government law. He was appointed Principal Planning Judge in 1987 and on the enactment of the Resource Management Amendment Act (1996) became Principal Environment Judge. He retired as Principal Environment Judge and as a full time Environment Judge at the end of March 2001.

Judge Sheppard has himself taken part in Planning Tribunal and Environment Court decisions on many significant resource management cases, and has given papers at numerous seminars and conferences both in New Zealand and overseas. Judge Sheppard has also been a member of the Legislation Advisory Committee and is based at Auckland.

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Bio under construction.

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Bio under construction.

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