Minister Phil Twyford will be participating in the panel discussion to debate key planning issues at the New Zealand Planning Institute's (NZPI) Breaking New Ground conference held next month during March 21-23.

Chaired by conference MC, Wallace Chapman, the forum will see Minister Twyford take the floor with international keynote speaker Erin Barnes and New Zealand Professor Paul Spoonley. Each speaker will tackle key issues raised during the conference, followed by questions from the floor.

 What:                   NZPI Breaking New Ground conference’s panel discussion

Where:                 ASB Arena, Tauranga

When:                  Friday, March 23

The panel discussion starts at 11:15am, and photo and interview opportunities can be scheduled before and after this section of the programme.

About key note speakers:

Erin Barnes – New York, USA

-          Co-Founder and Executive Director of ioby.org, an online crowdfunding platform focussed on neighbourhood improvement

-          Former environmental editor and writer with a background in water management

-          Board member of the US’ EcoDistricts and Resource Media, and an advisor to ArtBridge

Professor Paul Spoonley

-          Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University

-          Author or editor of 27 books, the most recent being Rebooting the Regions (2016)

-          Programme Leader of a research programme on the impacts of immigration and diversity

-          Awarded the Science and Technology Medal by the Royal Society in 2009

Details, https://www.nzpiconference.org/