Event Details

The Infrastructure Collective (TIC) together with our hosts EY are pleased to invite TIC and the young professionals from Engineering New Zealand to the TIC Panel Discussion: Adapting Infrastructure to Climate Change.

Scientists globally agree that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and that those impacts will continue to worsen in the future. Over the past few months, we’ve seen these impacts in the form of “unprecedented” rainfall, causing widespread flooding in Auckland in January, and Cyclone Gabrielle, causing devastating flooding across the east coast of the North Island. With the National Adaptation Plan released last year, this panel is an opportunity to reflect on how NZ is responding to climate change through adaptation and some of the major challenges that we will and are already facing.

This is an incredible opportunity to hear from a panel of experts that are key to influencing how we adapt our infrastructure to climate change: 

- Monique Cornish (Principal Advisor – Te Waihanga | NZ Infrastructure Commission)

- Richard Reinen-Hamill (Director of Natural Hazard Resilience – Tonkin + Taylor)

- Melanie Mason (Manager of Infrastructure Planning – Kāinga Ora Homes and Communities)

We invite you to join us to ask our panel any queries you have about infrastructure adaptation. Nibbles and refreshments will be provided, with thanks to the event sponsor EY. There are limited spaces for the event so make sure you register!

Presenter Details

Monique Cornish (Principal Advisor – Te Waihanga | NZ Infrastructure Commission)

Monique brings over 20-years’ experience as a strategic advisor focussed on understanding, protecting, and enhancing environmental, social, cultural, and wider-economic value through business practices and policy development. 

Monique is a recognised leader in sustainability and resilience, and has experience working across the built-environment value chain, from policy, to procurement, design, construction and operation.

Monique currently leads Te Waihanga, the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission’s, sustainability, climate change and resilience policy programme. She led the development of the infrastructure chapter of the first National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP). She also leads Te Waihanga’s contribution to numerous working groups shaping the New Zealand Government’s response to sustainability, resilience and climate change challenges, including the recovery from the extreme weather events across the North Island this summer, the development of the Climate Adaptation Bill, and the reform of the regulatory settings for Critical Infrastructure resilience.

Richard Reinen-Hamill (Director of Natural Hazard Resilience – Tonkin + Taylor)

Richard is a highly experienced engineer and project director with over 30 years of experience in coastal engineering, coastal processes, natural hazard, and risk assessments.   

Using his extensive knowledge and skills in adaptation and resilience planning, Richard has been instrumental in supporting clients to build resilience into new infrastructure projects through improved design standards and specifications, conducting detailed assessments of high-risk areas and developing targeted solutions to address those risks.  Richard was the technical lead for coastal hazard, risk, and adaptation for the Hawke’s Bay coastal hazard resilience strategy 2020, Project Director for New Zealand’s first National Climate Change Risk Assessment and is supporting Auckland Council with their shoreline management plan pilots.

Richard holds postgraduate qualifications in the fields of multi-hazard risk assessments, including climate change and adaptation responses, and coastal processes as well as management.  

Melanie Mason (Manager of Infrastructure Planning – Kāinga Ora Homes and Communities)

Melanie is Manager - Infrastructure Planning in the Urban Development and Delivery group at Kāinga Ora.  

Melanie’s team is responsible for providing infrastructure planning support to the business and liaising with Councils and Council Controlled Organisations to plan and programme necessary infrastructure upgrades to support the efficient delivery of land development activity. 

Melanie has a background in infrastructure planning and development engineering with experience working in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom, with particular relevance to the three waters (wastewater, potable water and stormwater).