Two barristers will help investigate failure at wastewater treatment plant
Simon Watts, local government minister, has announced the appointments of experienced lawyers Helen Atkins and Michael Weatherall to the Crown team tasked with reviewing what went wrong at the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant.
“Wellingtonians deserve clear answers about what led to the catastrophic failure at Moa Point and the assurance that it will not happen again,” Watts said in a news release from the government.
He explained that the Moa Point Crown review team aims to give Wellingtonians clarity and certainty by conducting a comprehensive and coordinated investigation into what caused the failure and what to change to avoid it from recurring.
Raveen Jaduram, past Watercare chief executive and present chair of the Water Services Authority, will lead the team, which will also include Garry Macdonald, a senior infrastructure engineer.
Watts noted that the team’s work will encompass both the Wellington City Council and Wellington Water Ltd in a parallel process involving two terms of reference.
“I am mindful that the Review Team’s work is likely to coincide with the Greater Wellington Regional Council’s (GWRC) own investigation as the environmental regulator under the Resource Management Act,” he said.
Watts said he did not expect the team’s efforts to limit the local authority’s regulatory activities.
“We expect to receive an interim report before Wellington’s water assets - including the Moa Point plant - are due to transfer to the new council water organisation Tiaki Wai Limited on 1 July,” Watts said in the government’s news release.
The Moa Point Crown review team will finish its final report before the end of its term on 31 August 2026.
After considering the final report, Watts will relay any recommendations to Cabinet.
“My intention is to publicly release the findings as soon as possible while managing any risk of prejudicing the investigation or any enforcement action by Greater Wellington Regional Council or any commercial or legal action or claims,” he said.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Atkins has been a barrister/commissioner at Atkins Law in New Zealand since August 2023.
She served as a partner focusing on environmental and resource management and public and local government law at Atkins Holm Majurey from April 2009 to August 2023.
Atkins worked as a partner at DLA Phillips Fox from April 1999 to February 2009 and as a senior solicitor at Russell McVeagh from August 1995 to April 1999.
She obtained her LLB from the University of Canterbury in 1987.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Weatherall has been a barrister at Michael Weatherall Barrister in New Zealand since January 2025. As a major projects lawyer, he has led legal teams handling matters relating to large projects in the country.
He has been past president of the Society of Construction Law NZ and a co-author of Kennedy-Grant and Weatherall on Construction Law.
From April 1997 to December 2025, Weatherall worked at Simpson Grierson in Auckland. At the firm, he served as a partner from 2022–25 and as head of its construction national practice group for more than two decades.
He worked as a lawyer at Pinsent Masons in London, UK, from April 1992 to March 1997, and as a structural engineer at Beca in New Zealand from January 1989 to December 1991.
Weatherall earned his diploma in professional legal practice from City St George’s, University of London, and his civil engineering degree (honours) from the University of Canterbury.
