An essential seminar for lawyers navigating the complexity of energy legislation under the recent RMA Reforms. Stay on top of the latest in changes to energy regulation and understand the key areas to watch for as New Zealand continues to move towards renewable energy. Receive practical tips from experts on how to engage with changing legislation and understand the implications of the New Offshore Renewable Energy Bill.

Presenters

Dan Williams, Partner, Anderson Lloyd
Dan is a Partner who advises on all aspects of commercial property law, with a particular focus on assisting clients with forestry law. Dan also regularly advises clients on emissions trading scheme issues and carbon forestry projects and is a member of Anderson Lloyd’s specialist Carbon Trading, Emissions Trading Scheme and Climate Change team. Dan has been involved in a number of high value property deals in New Zealand. His recent experience includes advising: New Forests Asset Management Pty Limited on its acquisitions of significant New Zealand forestry assets as well as property management issues; and NZ Retail Property Group on its town centre and shopping mall developments. Dan is internationally recognised by top global/national legal directories for his expertise advising on real estate matters, including Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, NZ Lawyer and asialaw Profiles. The Chambers & Partners (Asia Pacific) 2021 edition states Dan is praised by a client as a “hard-working, responsive practitioner with great sectoral knowledge and experience”. Dan is an accredited specialist member of the Property Law Section of the New Zealand Law Society and is one of the primary authors of the Chambers and Partners Global Practice Guide to Real Estate in New Zealand.


Lauren Curtayne, Partner, Chapman Tripp
Lauren is an energy sector specialist, advising across major projects, commercial contracts, M&A and regulatory matters. She has a passion for renewable energy, and has experience working on projects for all four renewable fuels – wind, solar, hydro and geothermal. Her experience includes conventional electricity, renewable electricity, oil and gas (upstream and downstream), mergers and acquisitions of energy companies, joint ventures, energy storage, hydrogen and new fuels, and negotiation of power purchase agreements, grid connection agreements and O&M agreements. Lauren previously worked for UK magic circle law firm Allen & Overy, in their Abu Dhabi projects team. While there, she advised on the development of independent power and water projects and large scale gas transactions. She was recognised as the Energy, Natural Resources & Mining Lawyer of the Year at the 2023 APAC Women in Business Law Awards and as a Next Generation Partner by Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024.


Alana Lampitt, Partner, Chapman Tripp
Alana advises public and commercial clients across the energy sector (including electricity generation, transmission and distribution) as well in industrial processes, mining, oil and gas and emissions trading sectors. Alana specialises in resource management and environmental aspects of large-scale energy and infrastructure projects, property development, commercial contracts and due diligence investigations. She has extensive experience assisting clients on fast track consenting having successfully acted for clients in the industrial, energy and rural sector in relation to fast track consents. She has also acted for commenters in fast track consent processes to secure beneficial consent conditions. Alana is a climate change regulatory specialist and advises clients on emissions trading scheme and other climate regulatory reform necessary to support new technologies. She advises major corporates and crown entities on climate change strategy and litigation.


Natasha Garvan, Partner, Bell Gully
Natasha is a resource management specialist, heading up Bell Gully’s environment and planning practice. She advises on strategic and consenting strategies for large scale infrastructure providers, public bodies, iwi, property and land developers, businesses, and community interest groups, supporting them through plan change, designation or consenting processes. Natasha regularly appears as counsel at mediations and hearings, including advising on consents, designations, planning instruments, declarations, enforcement, and judicial review proceedings. She also routinely advises on sensitive land applications under the Overseas Investment Act. She is Convenor of the NZLS Climate Change Law Committee. Some of Natasha’s clients have included Waikato-Tainui, Auckland Transport and Genesis Energy.


Alex Booker, Partner, Anderson Lloyd
Alex has significant experience advising on transactions, property developments and project consenting. She joined Anderson Lloyd in April 2013 having previously worked with leading law firms in Auckland and Wellington. Alex likes to make things happen. She enjoys developing effective strategy to achieve the required consents, permits and access approvals for projects. These range from single building projects to complex residential subdivisions to major commercial projects (energy generation, mineral extraction, infrastructure, retail and supermarket developments). Alex is experienced in securing fast track consents for projects. Her area of practice also covers due diligence investigations, district plan processes (including intensification streamlined planning processes under the Enabling Housing Supply legislation) and advising on obligations that arise under the Overseas Investment Act for sensitive land. Alex’s clients vary from individual property developers, territorial authorities, through to regional and national companies.


Matt Conway, Partner, Simpson Grierson
Matt provides strategic advice and representation in environmental regulatory processes. He helps clients navigate processes under the Resource Management Act 1991 and related legislation, including: Creating, changing, understanding and applying district and regional plans and regional policy statements that set frameworks for what activities can be done, managing biodiversity, freshwater quantity and quality, air quality and coastal hazards, planning for the impacts of climate change, designating and consenting energy and infrastructure projects onshore and offshore, obtaining consents for urban development and other land use activities, water takes, and discharges to air, land, and water, marine consenting under the Exclusive Economic Zone (Environmental Effects) Act 2012 Enforcement, declarations and appeals, advising on law reform, environmental due diligence, applications under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011, finding solutions to legal challenges and disputes about all of the above. Matt is an updating author of Brookers Resource Management. He is a member of the Resource Management Law Association, and a member of Water New Zealand. He is also an associate member of the New Zealand Planning Institute.


Hamish Harwood, Senior Associate, Simpson Grierson
Hamish is a specialist resource management and local government lawyer. He advises and represents clients on district and regional plan reviews and plan changes, and consent and designation applications for a range of projects, including marine consent applications for activities taking place in the EEZ. His practice also includes a range of other strategic local government issues including judicial review, building law, local government liability, natural hazards and climate change, valuation compensation and rating disputes, roads, and customary rights applications. Hamish is a member of the Resource Management Law Association of New Zealand. His work Highlights include; plan reviews and plan changes, advising and representing Christchurch City Council, Kapiti Coast District Council, Queenstown Lakes District Council, Porirua City Council and New Plymouth District Council at all stages of their plan review and plan change processes, marine consent, advising and representing OMV, Beach Energy Limited, BW Offshore Limited, Chatham Rock Phosphate Limited and others in relation to marine consent and discharge consent applications for various energy (both renewable and non-renewable) projects in offshore Taranaki, the Great South Basin, the Canterbury Basin and the Chatham Rise.