Keynote speakers

Glyn Lewers is the newly elected Mayor of the Queenstown Lakes District. Prior to becoming the Mayor, he served a term as a Councillor. While a Councillor, Glyn sat on the following committees:

• Audit and Risk
• Infrastructure
• Planning and Strategy
• Community Services

As Mayor, Glyn’s main areas of focus are addressing the social infrastructure needs of the community. He aims to do this through building on key relationships with local iwi and developing an overarching plan to address the needs of both locals and visitors.

Glyn comes from an engineering background and holds a degree in Engineering from the University of Southern Queensland and a Bachelor of Surveying from the University of Otago. At 19 he trained with the Royal New Zealand Airforce.

Hon David Parker grew up and studied in Dunedin, graduating with a BCom/LLB from the University of Otago. He had a long career in business and law before being elected as Labour Member of Parliament in the former electorate of Otago in 2002.

In his earlier years, David was a managing and litigation partner in South Island law firm Anderson Lloyd. He was also involved in many businesses, including innovative bio-tech export start-ups A2 Corporation, BLIS Technologies, Botryzen and Pharmazen, as well as in more traditional industries. He is an experienced CEO and company director.

David was appointed to Cabinet in 2005, and has served in a wide range of portfolios under Prime Minister Helen Clark, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and in Opposition. His focus has always been, and remains, on delivering prosperity and fairer economic outcomes for all New Zealanders.

Judge David Kirkpatrick has worked in the fields of administrative and public law generally, and resource management law in particular, since the mid-1980’s. He appeared regularly before consent authorities, the Environment Court, and the High Court. He has also appeared before the Court of Appeal, the Privy Council, and the Supreme Court. From 1994 to 2004 he was a partner in the local government and environment practice area of Simpson Grierson, acting as a primary legal advisor to a number of local authorities in the Auckland region on public administration, the regulation of public utilities and resource management. He also acted for a wide range of corporate clients, incorporated societies and individuals in those fields. From 2004 to 2014 he was a barrister and in 2008-09 he acted as counsel assisting the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance. He was appointed as an Environment Judge in 2014 and was the chairperson of the Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel. He was appointed as the Chief Environment Court Judge in 2020. He is a contributing author of the chapter on land use and subdivision in the text Environmental and Resource Management Law, now in its seventh edition.

Ross Copland is the Chief Executive Officer of the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission (Te Waihanga).

Prior to joining the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Ross had a career in construction and tourism infrastructure development. He is passionate about renewables and sustainable building and has taken part in development engineering and disaster relief assignments across the Pacific. Ross has degrees in civil engineering, commerce, and an MBA.

Tui Shortland (Ngati Hine, Ngati Raukawa au ki te Tonga, Kai Tahu, Te Arawa) is a Māori leader, educator, and advocate, renowned for her expertise in indigenous resource management. With a profound understanding of Aotearoa New Zealand's cultural landscape and environmental challenges, Tui has dedicated her career to reshaping the discourse on resource management and creating inclusive processes that reflect the values and aspirations of Māori communities.

Tui’s skill in bringing together indigenous wisdom with contemporary resource management methodologies has garnered respect both nationally and internationally. By centering on indigenous knowledge systems and community aspirations, Tui ‘s contributions are forging new pathways for sustainability, cultural integrity, and social cohesion in resource management practices. She is currently consultant to Nia Tero and the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology; Kahurangi/Chair of Northland Regional Council; and was recently appointed to the Climate Change Commission to advise the Board on meeting its commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Kaila Colbin is founder and CEO of Boma, an organisation building a world of intentional, intelligent, courageous leaders. An award-winning leader renowned for impact, Kaila developed TEDxChristchurch into New Zealand’s flagship TEDx event and brought Singularity University to New Zealand and Australia, supporting thousands of people to engage with exponentially accelerating technologies and their impact on humanity.

As a founder of the non-profit Ministry of Awesome, Kaila played a critical role in developing Christchurch’s startup ecosystem. She has extensive governance experience, and has been involved with mergers, capital raises, and company sales in the US and NZ. She trained with Brené Brown and Al Gore, and is a chartered member of the Institute of Directors and a certified Project Management Professional. A native New Yorker, Kaila’s work to champion Aotearoa New Zealand on a global stage saw her given the 2022 Kea World Class New Zealand “Friend of New Zealand” award. Her purpose in life is to be an uplifting presence.

Kindly sponsored by Boffa Miskell