Joshua is a recommended lawyer for Projects and Resource Management in Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024, and is ranked as a leading Environment & Resource Management Lawyer in the 2022 Doyle’s Guide for New Zealand.
Joshua is a resource management and environmental lawyer, with extensive experience across a range of projects and environmental plan formulation processes. He leads Lane Neave’s national resource management team, with recognised specialisation in minerals and energy, retail and mana whenua matters.
He regularly advises on the development of nationally significant projects under the Resource Management Act and associated legal regimes across New Zealand. Joshua and his team are trusted advisors for approvals and plan formation processes for large-scale retail development, minerals and energy projects, land subdivision and development, and complex tangata whenua matters.
He has led the successful completion of many significant and controversial projects including supermarkets, mineral extraction, educational facilities and hotel and residential developments.
Joshua has led submissions, mediations and appeals on most District Plan review processes in New Zealand for both iwi and industry, including the Auckland Unitary Plan, Queenstown Proposed District Plan, Christchurch Replacement Plan, Dunedin 2GP and most recently the Marlborough Environment Plan, Gore District Plan and Te Tai o Poutini Plan.
His clients include major property development and investment companies, iwi, and businesses with significant land use requirements.
He acts on many of New Zealand’s most contentious resource management projects, including:
- Woolworths New Zealand Limited – the consenting of several supermarkets around New Zealand and acting on numerous plan formulation processes.
- KiwiRail Holdings Limited – acting on numerous plan formulation processes and providing legal representation on environmental matters in the Environment Court.
- Santana Minerals Limited – advising on the consenting of the Bendigo-Ophir gold mining project in Central Otago.
- Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu – providing advice and legal representation representation on various plan formulation processes across New Zealand, and advocating on significant cultural matters.
- Te Motu a Hiaroa Charitable Trust 8 providing advice and legal representation on the consenting of a marae.
- University of Otago – the resource consenting for Hākitekura – an academic retreat for research and teaching in Queenstown.
- Bathurst Resources Limited and BT Mining Limited – providing advice and legal representation on the resource consenting of complex mining projects and various plan formulation processes.
- Cardrona Alpine Resort Limited – providing advice and legal representation on ski resort development and plan formulation processes.
- Bespoke Resort and Hotel Development – acting for various developers on the consenting of multiple hotel and resort developments across New Zealand.
- Intensification projects – providing advice and legal representation on various Intensification Planning Instruments across New Zealand.
- Rural luxury dwellings – providing consenting advice on luxury residential development across New Zealand, including in sensitive landscapes.
Joshua is well connected to experienced and results-driven expert witnesses in New Zealand’s resource management industry and has a hands-on and commercially focused approach. He brings a unique skill set to assist clients.
