Helen Bowen is a criminal barrister, youth advocate and Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment (AODT) Court lawyer. In 2000 (with Jim Boyack) she was contracted by the Department for Courts to provide training for 80 community restorative justice facilitators in four courts around New Zealand. In the same year she co-authored a book, Restorative Justice: Contemporary Themes and Practices (Ploughshares Publishing) and The New Zealand Restorative Justice Training Manual with Jim Boyack and Stephen Hooper. Helen has provided restorative justice training services nationally and internationally including working with the Thames Valley Police in London and community groups in Northern Ireland for more than two decades. Helen continues to provide professional development and supervision with Auckland restorative justice provider groups and is a trustee of the Auckland Restorative Justice Trust. In 2020 Helen co-established Hei Tatau Pounamu charitable trust which provides Tikanga-based post sentence restorative justice hui for tangata hara and tangata mamae. She is a member Global Advisory Committee – Restorative Justice International, and she has a particular interest in Restorative Justice for whaiora in the AODT Court. 

Judge Clark was appointed to the District Court in August 2021.  He has a general warrant with a civil designation but also sits in the criminal jurisdiction in the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court.  He is the civil liaison judge for the Northern Region. 

Prior to his appointment he was the managing partner of Wilson McKay in Auckland and specialised in civil and commercial litigation dealing with contractual and property disputes, construction law, insolvency, regulatory compliance and public law.  He was a leading commercial mediator with panel memberships with AMINZ, Weathertight Homes Resolutions Service, the New Zealand Disputes Resolution Service and The International Court of Arbitration – Sport. 

Judge Clark’s tribunal affiliations are Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Hāua (Taumarunui). 

Dr Katherine Doolin is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, Waipapa Taumata Rau| University of Auckland (https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/k-doolin), having previously worked in the law faculties at the University of Birmingham and University of Kent in the UK. Dr Doolin researches and teaches in the areas of criminal law and criminal justice, with particular expertise on restorative justice, prisons, and youth justice. Dr Doolin has been a Visiting Scholar at the Faculty of Law and Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, the Department of Social & Policy Sciences at the University of Bath, and the Institute of Criminology at KU Leuven, Belgium. Since completing a doctorate at the University of Kent on restorative youth conferencing, Dr Doolin has published widely on restorative justice and presented on her research at over 50 international conferences, workshops, and seminars. She has extensive experience of carrying out evaluations of restorative justice schemes for adult and youth offenders. Her current research includes undertaking an international, comparative and empirical study of prison violence in England, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, and a programme of research on embedding restorative justice in prisons with the Restorative Justice Council UK.  

Born in Fiji and raised in Tonga, Dr Suliana Mone’s family roots run deep in the villages of Folaha, Fua’amotu, Nukunuku, Holonga, Houma Vava’u, and Ha’ano Ha’apai. She immigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand with her family during her teenage years. Dr Suliana Mone holds a PhD in Law, Bachelor and Master of Laws degrees from the University of Waikato. She was a lecturer and Pacific Convenor at Te Piringa Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato before moving to Auckland Law School, where she is a lecturer and Assistant Associate Dean Moana Oceania. Dr Suliana Mone’s academic journey has not only been marked by her personal accomplishments but also by her dedication to serving her community. During her doctoral studies, she lectured on various legal subjects and served as the Convenor for Pacific Engagement, bridging the gap between the university and the wider Pacific community. Her research focus is on international law, human rights, women’s rights, and Pacific law, particularly exploring the resistance to adopting the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in the Kingdom of Tonga. Dr Suliana Mone’s work sheds light on how patriarchal structures have hindered progress in women’s rights. 

Judge Parsons was appointed a District Court Judge in 2016 and holds General and Family warrants as well as Youth Court designation. She sits in the District Court including sitting in Te Whare Whakapiki Wairua – The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court – since 2018. Judge Parsons will be sitting in the Dunedin District Court for 2026 before then returning to Waitākere. 

Tēnā Koutou,  

Ko Mihimarino te manga,  

Ko Waipapa te ara,  

Ko Mataatua te waka,  

Ko Te Whānau ā Apanui te iwi,  

Ko Pahaoa te marae  

Ko Kohe Pene ahau  

My name is Kohe. My father is of English descent, and my mother is Māori. I have lived experience of 32 years in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, have worked in the field of addiction for the past 25 years as a support worker, counsellor, tikanga advisor and currently doing supervision with those who work in the field. Through my own experience and now working with others, one of the biggest challenges working with people in general is not falling into the trap of burn-out and the denial of this. Self-care physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually needs to be top priority when caring for others, yet it is not spoken about enough, let alone practiced. I will be highlighting areas of health and well-being. Caring for oneself provides quality care for others. Awhi mai, awhi atu, tātau tātau e. 

His Honour Judge Heemi Taumaunu was appointed Chief District Court Judge in September 2019, and leads a bench of over 170 judges and 18 community magistrates. Born in Gisborne, he is the first Māori to be appointed to the role and is a fluent te reo Māori speaker. His tribal affiliations are Ngāti Pōrou and its sub-tribe Ngāti Konohi, and Ngāi Tahu. He was appointed a District Court Judge in 2004 after a decade practising law mainly in Gisborne and a previous career in the New Zealand Army. He studied law at Victoria University, where he was awarded the Quentin Baxter Memorial Scholarship and the Ngā Rangatahi Toa Scholarship. He was the first person from Ngāti Konohi to gain a law degree and to practise as a barrister and solicitor. As a barrister, he became experienced in in jury trials, as a Youth Advocate and as a lawyer for child and counsel to assist in the Family Court. Through various leadership roles in the District Court Judge Taumaunu has encouraged a wider appreciation for the value of culturally responsive justice. He led development of Ngā Kōti Rangatahi o Aotearoa, the Rangatahi Courts, and his leadership was recognised internationally in 2017 when he received the Veillard-Cybulski Award. Judge Taumaunu has also served as a Judge of the Court Martial of New Zealand since 2012, including as Deputy Judge Advocate General and Deputy Chief Judge of the Court Martial of New Zealand.  

No Hauraki, no Raukawa, no Ranginui,  no Paremoremo, no Hoani Waititi marae, no Patua te Ngangara.  

Born into poverty, which led to addiction and then prison, culminating in serving a life sentence from his teenage years, Shane was  pulled  into te Ao Maori by a long list of rangatira such as Ana Tia, Mutu Wihongi, Ngapo Wehi,  Denis Hansen, June Mariu, and is still mentored by Ta Papa Pita Sharples. Shane brings  26  years of experience driving AOD Service provider Patua te Ngangara and Mana Tane and Tikanga wananga, Mau Rākau  and Kapa haka. He has the ability to work at the interface  between te Ao Maori, addictions and the criminal justice system, Marae-based, but also working in the community and around the country, in the prisons, in the courts, with the gangs, with the police.  

Johnny (Hoani)  Waititi said  

“Ka pu te ruha, ka hao te rangatahi”: 

When wisdom appears transformation occurs.  

Although he would not say this about himself, Shane is widely known and greatly respected for his decades of tireless, dedicated mahi rangatira and his willingness to do what he can to make a difference in the community, especially for those doing it hard.