The Tribunal is an independent judicial body that hears claims relating to breaches of the:
The Tribunal is administered by the Ministry of Justice and is completely separate from the Human Rights Commission, Privacy Commissioner, and Health and Disability Commissioner.
The Chairperson and Deputy Chairpersons are appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice. Members of the Panel maintained by the Minister under s 101 of the Human Rights Act 1993 are appointed by the Minister. Claims are heard by the Chairperson and/or a Deputy Chairperson plus two panel members.
Appointments are based on knowledge or experience of issues likely to come before the Tribunal, such as:
Sarah Eyre was appointed Chairperson of the Human Rights Review Tribunal in August 2022. Prior to that, Ms Eyre had been a Deputy Chairperson of the Tribunal since May 2019. Ms Eyre graduated from the University of Otago with a law degree and a Bachelor of Arts in Māori. Ms Eyre commenced her career determining refugee claims, as a Refugee Status Officer. Following that Ms Eyre practiced in a private law firm in Auckland with a focus on litigation, specialising in Treaty of Waitangi claims, Māori legal issues and refugee law. Ms Eyre has been a Barrister since 2014, working predominantly in public law and dispute resolution. Immediately prior to her appointment to the Human Rights Review Tribunal, Ms Eyre held statutory warrants as a Disputes Tribunal Referee and a Visiting Justice.
Katherine Anderson is a Barrister Sole who has been a Panel member of the Human Rights Review Tribunal since 2013. Ms Anderson is a disputes resolution lawyer with extensive experience in private and public law. She has a strong background in governance, good decision-making processes, health law, privacy, and commercial and public law disputes.
Martha Coleman was appointed Deputy Chairperson in May 2019 and is an experienced public lawyer with over 20 years practice. She has been a Barrister sole since 2014 and for the previous 14 years was employed by the Crown Law Office specialising in the area of human rights. Ms Coleman is also a Parole Board Convenor, having first been appointed to the Board in 2014, and a District Inspector for Mental Health since 2017. Ms Coleman holds an LLM from Yale University where she studied on a Fulbright Scholarship with a focus on constitutional and anti-discrimination law. She was also the recipient of a Human Rights Teaching Fellowship at Columbia University.
Ms Foster was appointed Deputy Chairperson in May 2019. She is an experienced public lawyer with significant expertise in human rights and administrative law including nearly 20 years of litigation practice. She has specialised in matters involving the Human Rights Act 1993, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 and the Privacy Act 1993. Admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor in 1995, she worked as a litigation solicitor for Chapman Tripp until 1997 when she joined the Crown Law Human Rights Team as an assistant crown counsel. She remained at Crown Law for over 17 years, working predominantly on human rights matters, becoming an associate crown counsel in 2004 and crown counsel in 2009. In late 2015 she joined the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as General Counsel, where her principal responsibility was providing expert legal advice and quality assurance for the Commissioner in administering the Privacy Act, including managing the office’s litigation matters.
Gillian Goodwin was appointed as a Deputy Chairperson in May 2019. Prior to that she had been a Panel Member of the Human Rights Review Tribunal since 2013. Ms Goodwin has been a partner at both MinterEllisonRuddWatts and Anthony Harper. In addition, she practised capital markets law at Linklaters in London. Her areas of expertise are privacy law, corporate and commercial law and securities law. Ms Goodwin is a past member of the New Zealand Law Society Commercial and Business Law Committee and the Auckland District Law Society Commercial Law Committee. Ms Goodwin has also served on the National Board of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
John Hancock was appointed Deputy Chairperson in May 2023. He has extensive experience in human rights law, including international human rights monitoring and reporting, and public policy. He was formerly the Chief Legal Adviser at the Human Rights Commission, where he led the Commission’s strategic litigation work, and Principal Adviser (Legal) at the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. He has also practiced as a Youth Advocate in the Auckland Youth Court and in community law. He was a member of the Ministry of Health Northern B Health and Disability Ethics Committee between 2016-2022.
Lesley Ashworth has a LLB/BA from Waikato University. She has worked in both private practice and in government agencies with a particular interest in employment law and dispute resolution. She did further study and training to become a restorative justice facilitator and mediator in the early 2000s and then worked for the Human Rights Commission as a mediator for several years. Ms Ashworth now has her own practice in mediation and facilitation, working mostly in the area of workplace disputes using a restorative approach. She is a contract mediator to the Ministry of Business, Employment and Innovation Employment Mediation Service.
Natalie Baird is an Associate Professor at the School of Law at the University of Canterbury. She holds an LLM from Columbia University where she studied on a Fulbright Scholarship with a focus on international human rights law. The first part of Natalie’s career was spent in the New Zealand public service including at the Crown Law Office, the Cabinet Office and the Law Commission.
Based at the University of Canterbury since 2007, Ms Baird’s teaching and research interests include international human rights, refugee law, Pacific legal studies, and international disaster law. Ms Baird is also the Co-Director of Canterbury’s Postgraduate and LLM (International Law and Politics) programmes. Throughout her career, Ms Baird has maintained a keen commitment to the community via volunteering and governance roles with various organisations including Amnesty International, Volunteer Service Abroad and Trade Aid.
Patsi Davies affiliates to Kāi Tahu and Kāti Māmoe. Admitted to the Bar in 1999, she holds a BSocSci and LLB (Hons) from the University of Waikato, a PGDipHealth Admin (Dist.) from Massey University, a PhD in public health policy/law/tobacco control from the Auckland University of Technology and a Certificate in Alcoholism Counselling (ALAC). She has had managerial/policy development roles in the health and disability sector, clinical roles in mental health social work and addictions, governance roles in football, education and health, and taught health law and policy, mediation, and legal method in the School of Law at Waikato University.
Dr Davies has been an academic staff member in the Faculty of Health & Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology (AUT), where she taught public health and health promotion and researched public health policy, human rights, and social justice. She is also a member of several District Licensing Committees. In 2015, she received a Brian Perry Waikato Regional Sports Award for Service to Sport (football) and in 2016, she received an AUT Vice Chancellor's Excellence in Teaching Award. Dr Davies was appointed a member of the AUT Academy in 2019.
Wendy Gilchrist is a New Zealander of European descent with a range of health sector, research and business skills. Married for over 40 years with three adult sons she trained as a medical and obstetric nurse and has had a career in medical research and business. She owned and managed a medical diagnostics company providing services to both the public and private sector, this included training research technologists both nationally and internationally and developing standards for the industry in NZ. Mrs Gilchrist was involved with the establishment of the Canterbury Osteoporosis Society and Osteoporosis New Zealand and was an elected member of the Canterbury District Health Board at the time of the Christchurch Earthquake. She was then appointed as a member of the Christchurch Community Forum for 6 years which provided advice to the Government. Mrs Gilchrist is currently managing business interests in Christchurch.
Until recently, Leigh Gorringe worked for the NZ Police in Youth Development. In addition she was involved with The Children's Team, Rotorua in the capacity of both panel member and Lead Professional. She was also a board member of several youth-focused committees and trusts and involved in the development and delivery of intervention programmes for youth. Ms Gorringe is now studying full-time to complete a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Her work experience combined with her studies in law and psychology give her a wide perspective on societal and cultural issues.
Deborah Hart is the independent chair of the newly formed Retirement Villages’ Residents’ Council. She also chairs the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand and the Consumer Advocacy Council which advocates for residential and small business electricity consumers and serves on the formation board of the Grocery Action Group. She is the former chair of Aotearoa New Zealand’s independent electoral review.
A solicitor by training, the former executive director of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand undertook the independent review of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme and is a former member of the government’s Small Business Advisory Group. Deborah has served on the Tribunal for over 11 years.
Huhana Hickey MNZM, has an LLB/BSoc Sci, LLM (Distinction) and a PhD in Law and Tikanga Maori from the University of Waikato. Huhana is director of Pukenga Consultancy Ltd and focuses on consultancy and advice. She was until 2022 a lead researcher and advocate. Dr Hickey was also a solicitor at Auckland Disability Law (the first disability community law centre in New Zealand) and a Māori Research Fellow at the Taupua Waiora Māori Health Research Unit at the Auckland University of Technology, Akoranga, Auckland. Dr Hickey was an indigenous peoples’ representative for the International Disability Association steering group caucus during the development of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and is still involved with the IDA international networks. Dr Hickey was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015 for her services to Māori and disability community. She holds several governance roles, and community positions, including as director on Housing New Zealand Board 2018-2019. She is a member of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of New Zealand and is a life member of Rostrevor House in the Waikato.
Susan Isaacs is a mediator in the area of employment, workplace relations, the voluntary sector and other disputes. She volunteers at the Citizens Advice Bureau dealing with migrants, beneficiaries and those with health concerns. She has worked in the public sector on education, health and human rights issues, most recently with the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO. Ms Isaacs has a Master of International Relations from Victoria University of Wellington and a Diploma of Business Studies (Disputes Resolution) from Massey University. She is a member of a minority group, sits on the governing body of that community’s aged care society and chairs an educational charitable trust.
Sandra Kai Fong was formerly a partner in the Rotorua law firm McKechnie Quirke and Lewis and for 26 years practised mainly in the area of civil and commercial litigation. She retired from practice in 2011. Ms Kai Fong has been involved in the grant-making and philanthropic sector for 17 years as a trustee on Baytrust and the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust providing grants to not-for-profit organisations and groups in the Bay of Plenty and Rotorua region. She was also elected to the board of Philanthropy New Zealand, the peak body for grant making and philanthropy and chaired the Philanthropy NZ Board from 2016 to 2018. In October 2019 Ms Kai Fong was elected as a Councillor to the Rotorua Lakes Council and continues to have business and community interests in Rotorua.
Mike Keefe is a Retired Public Servant having served 26 years with the NZ Police as a serving Officer followed by 20 Years as a Civilian employee both in Wellington and Rotorua. He is of Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Arawa, Ngati Porou and European descent.
During a break from Police employment, he started his own property development company renovating existing and building new residential properties. Appointed a Justice of the Peace in 2000, a current Judicial Justice of the Peace, he has served on numerous committees in diverse roles.
Mr Keefe has always had a strong interest in helping those who are less fortunate and governance roles have generally focussed on support for others including our Rangatahi and the modern-day challenges they now face. He maintains a strong and active interest in social issues including Human Rights, Youth, Education, Employment and Housing, whilst supporting other philanthropic organisations as an elected Member to the Rotorua Trust, and as a former chair of the Bay of Plenty Lotteries Distribution Committee. Mr Keefe was awarded the Queens Service Medal in 2017 for Services to the Community.
Bronwen Klippel practised as a lawyer in Auckland for more than 30 years, working mainly in the areas of family law, health professional disciplinary work and mediation and was appointed as a part-time member of the Refugee Status Appeals Authority in 2003. Ms Klippel has undertaken community work and voluntary positions including sitting on two school trust boards, mentoring secondary school students, advising Womens' Refuges and Citizen Advice Bureaus, and having extensive involvement with the Auckland Jewish Community.
Malakai Koloamatangi holds a PhD in Political Studies from the University of Auckland. He is Adjunct Professor at the University of Fiji, and Foundation Professor at Lo’au University. He was the inaugural Director, Office for Pacific Excellence and former Acting Director, Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies at the University of Canterbury. He was, until the end of 2019, Associate Professor and Director of the Pasifika Directorate and Co-Director of the Pacific Research and Policy Centre at Massey University. He has researched, commentated and written on human rights, democracy and related issues and has worked to connect research and application, most notably in creating ‘national dialogues’ in the Pacific as an indigenous approach to achieving development goals.
Dr Koloamatangi currently leads the Research and Insights team at the Ministry for Pacific Peoples. His community commitments include, among other things, being President of the Auckland Tongan Community Inc and Chair of the Aotearoa Tongan Council. Dr Koloamatangi was bestowed the traditional hereditary Tongan navigator title, Mafua-‘ae-Lulutai by his Late Majesty King Tupou IV of Tonga in 2006.
Iani Nemani is Tongan and Fijian by descent, migrated to New Zealand as a child from Tonga and cares deeply about New Zealand society. He is an experienced Community Development and Engagement practitioner and is currently working in the housing sector. He has extensive knowledge and experience in social work and community economic development with a specific focus on labour market development, immigration and migrant settlement. In more recent years he was employed as a workplace diversity and inclusion practitioner and prior to that was instrumental in developing a strategy to increase Maori and Pasifika participation in trades training and apprenticeships in one of New Zealand’s leading industry training organisations. He initially trained as a social worker and has qualifications in social work, social policy, economic development and theology. He has served on advisory boards including the Manukau Institute of Technology Pasifika Community Advisory Board and currently serves on the board of trustees for the Pasifika Education Centre and the Patient Whanau Centred Care Council at the Auckland District Health Board and is an active alumni of Leadership New Zealand.
Poalaga Selma Scott holds qualifications in arts (history) (1982) and law (1986) from University of Canterbury. She was admitted to the Bar in New Zealand and also in Samoa in 1986. She has extensive legal, justice, housing, and accident compensation sector experience. Mrs Scott is a sole practitioner and her main areas of practice include immigration, property, accident compensation, family, and employment law. She is Deputy Chair of the Social Workers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal, and Chair of the Niu Economic and Enterprise Development Trust in Christchurch.
Shail Stewart holds an LLB and a research LLM from the University of Auckland. She is also a New Zealand trained physiotherapist with wide exposure within the spectrum of the health and disability sector from a clinical and governance perspective. Ms Stewart has substantial national and international experience, specifically in Oncology, Haematology and Palliative Care. She has presented at national and international Haematology conferences and completed volunteer seminars and education sessions within these clinical areas. She has served on the New Zealand Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal as a Physiotherapy member since 2015.
Nicola Swain holds a BSc(hons) and PhD, both in Psychology, from the University of Otago. Dr Swain works part-time as an Associate Professor in the School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago. She has published over 70 academic papers on topics including health, disability, cannabis use, mental health, and crime. Dr Swain also teaches and supervises graduate students at Te Pukenga. She currently serves on several boards including The Health and Disability Ethics Committee, The Medical Sciences Council (a regulatory authority), Sport Otago, and ADL (a mental health provider). She lives in Arrowtown with her husband and the youngest of her four children.
Baden Vertongen (Ngāti Raukawa ki Te Tonga) is a barrister and solicitor in sole practice in Wellington. He also works as a mediator in disputes across a range of issues and is a Fellow of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand. Baden’s legal work has included assisting with several Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiations, Crown/Māori partnerships, and advice to post settlement iwi entities and other large Māori organisations on governance and statutory obligations. Baden is a former Tumuaki Tāne of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa (the Māori Law Society) and holds, or has held, a range of other governance roles.
Ella Tait is a barrister sole specialising in employment and human rights law, with a particular focus on advocacy, dispute resolution and conducting independent investigations. Prior to becoming a barrister sole she worked in both private practice and the public sector, principally in the areas of employment law, litigation and human rights. Most recently, she held senior roles at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, and the Office of Human Rights Proceedings.
Alice McCarthy is a partner of Manaia Legal, and has significant experience in human rights, te Tiriti o Waitangi, and health and disability legal issues. She is currently a counsel assisting the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care, a deputy lawyer member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal and sits on a national ethics committee. Alongside her legal practice, she is completing a MSc in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford.
Aarif Rasheed is a lawyer with over 19 years’ experience serving communities. Aarif worked as a law clerk then as a lawyer with the Public Defence Service Pilot scheme until 2008. He then joined the Auckland Defence Chambers in Manukau and continued to work with communities overrepresented in the criminal justice system, especially in South Auckland.
Aarif served as a Disputes Tribunal Referee from 2009 to 2014 while continuing to assist whānau in the criminal courts, especially through restorative and other responsive court processes. Aarif also assisted with writing cultural reports and setting up the Alcohol and Other Drug courts. Aarif has a background in science and an interest in medical (medicolegal) work. Recently Aarif has specialised in inquiry work, especially in assisting grieving whānau in the coronial process in cases of state implication in deaths, including representing a large number of Christchurch Mosque shooting victim whānau and survivors. His interests remain in courts and other specialist tribunals understanding and serving communities and maintaining the strength and credibility of the justice system amongst all communities.
This page was last updated: 09th September 2024