Senior Associate, Wellington

Esther Bennett

Esther Bennett

Contact

Profile

Esther specialises in environmental and resource management law, acting for a range of public and private sector clients including local authorities, charitable organisations and large commercial companies.

Esther has appeared in council-level, Environment Court and High Court hearings and mediations on resource consenting and planning matters.  She was part of the pro bono legal team that successfully represented the New Zealand Animal Law Association (NZALA) and SAFE in High Court judicial review proceedings relating to the use of pig farrowing crates, and is on the pro bono legal team for NZALA and SAFE in current High Court judicial review proceedings relating to rodeo practices in New Zealand.

Prior to joining Buddle Findlay, Esther worked in health and social care regulatory law for a firm in London as well as in the dispute resolution group at New Zealand's Ministry of Social Development.

  • Member of the Resource Management Law Association
  • Executive Member of the New Zealand Animal Law Association

Experience

Sector / Expertise

Work highlights

Acting for Creswell NZ

in Environment Court, High Court and Court of Appeal proceedings regarding the consenting of a water bottling plant expansion

Representing Tararua District Council

in Environment Court appeals regarding the reconsenting of its Pahiatua and Eketāhuna wastewater infrastructure

Representing Hutt City Council

in the consenting of the Eastern Bays Shared Path project in Eastbourne, Wellington

Acting on a pro-bono basis for the New Zealand Animal Law Association and Save Animals from Exploitation (SAFE)

in judicial review proceedings regarding the use of, and policy and laws around, pig farrowing crates and rodeo

Advising Pāmu (Landcorp)

on various resource management issues including Waikato Regional Council's Proposed Regional Plan Change 1, certificates of compliance, consent lapse periods, and general RMA compliance and enforcement

Assisting with the resource consent preparation for RiverLink

a partnership project between Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Hutt City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council involving flood protection, roading and infrastructure works in and around Te Awa Kairangi

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Related insights

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National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land released

The National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL) was released on 18 September 2022 and will come into force on 17 Oc…

20 September 2022

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Public submissions can now be made on the recently released Intensification Planning Instruments (IPI).  The IPI process was introdu…

26 August 2022

Alert

Exposure draft of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity released

The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) has now released its exposure draft of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversit…

10 June 2022

More

Alternate contacts

David Allen

Partner, Wellington

David specialises in all aspects of resource management, environmental and natural resources law and local government law. He is a…

  • DDI +64 4 462 0423
  • M +64 21 955 744

Email

David Randal

Partner, Wellington

David specialises in resource management, environmental and Māori law. He has advised clients at the heart of intensive RMA processes…

  • DDI +64 4 462 0450
  • M +64 21 742 863

Email

Paul Beverley

Partner, Wellington

Paul was the National Chair of Buddle Findlay from 2017 to March 2020. Paul specialises in Māori Law, Treaty settlement negotiations, …

  • DDI +64 4 462 0406
  • M +64 21 276 9322

Email