Stuart Donovan appointed to Auckland Council hearings panel

Dec 22, 2025

We're proud of our Senior Fellow Stuart Donovan, recently appointed to the Independent Hearings Panel for Auckland Council's proposed Plan Change 120.

This proposed plan change aims to:

• better manage development for natural hazards across the region
• change rules to help further intensification of housing (mainly around rapid transit stops, along many major bus routes and around centres).

Stuart & other panel members will hear and consider public submissions on the plan. They will look at the evidence given and recommend to the council on where they could make changes to the proposed plan. 

Stuart is the main person on the panel with economics expertise. He is an economist with 20 years’ experience of working in Aotearoa New Zealand, Europe and Australia. Stuart has expertise in urban economics, multi-modal transport planning, and infrastructure and land use policy.

He has a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, having spent most of his life there.

Ka pai/well done, Stuart.

More details on the plan and panel.