Speakers

Our 2026 Wānanga brings together voices from across design, planning, research, culture, practice and public life, each bringing a different perspective to the kōrero.

We’ll keep adding to this page as more speakers and programme details are announced.

International Keynote

Alison Page

Dharawal and Yuin Designer and Artist
Director, Indigenous Institute for Designing with Country, University of Technology Sydney

Alison Page is a Dharawal and Yuin Designer and Artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans almost 30 years, bringing together traditional knowledges and storytelling with urban design, landscape architecture, public art and interiors.

As Director of the Indigenous Institute for Designing with Country at the University of Technology Sydney, Alison advocates for First Nations perspectives as foundational to Australian design practice. She was inducted into the Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame in 2015 and received the Interior Design Excellence Awards Gold Medal in 2022. She also spent eight years as a panellist on ABC television’s The New Inventors.

In 2021, Alison co-authored Design: Building on Country with Paul Memmott, published as part of Thames & Hudson Australia’s First Knowledges series. At Ka Rū Ka Hā, she will explore design as an act of listening to Country, Ancestors and the knowledge embedded in place, and how ancient wisdom can be brought into conversation with contemporary life.

Emeritus Professor Hirini Matunga

Ko Ngai Tahu, Kati Mamoe, Ngati Kahungunu, Rongowhakaata, Ngati Porou oku iwi

Emeritus Professor Hirini Matunga is an internationally respected leader in Indigenous planning, design, environmental management, policy and heritage management.

In 2026, Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University awarded Hirini the honorary title of Emeritus Professor in recognition of his influence, reputation and contribution to Indigenous self-determination. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Town Planning from the University of Auckland in 1983, he spent a decade working as a planner across local, regional and central government, alongside work with iwi and Māori organisations throughout Aotearoa.

Hirini joined Lincoln University in 1992, later becoming Director of the Centre for Māori and Indigenous Planning and Development. He went on to serve for nine years as Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Māori and Pasifika) and also as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Communities), before returning his focus to teaching and research.

He received the New Zealand Planning Institute’s inaugural Papa Pounamu Award in 2015 and Lincoln University’s Ngāti Moki Trophy for Māori Leadership in 2024.

Sibyl Bloomfield

Landscape architect, senior lecturer and researcher | AUT

Pākehā, Waikato, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngai Te Rangi

Sibyl Bloomfield is a landscape architect, senior lecturer and researcher working in Huri te Ao, the School of Future Environments at AUT, within the Architecture and Future Environments programme.

Her research explores systems change, participatory and co-design practices, Indigenous built environment practices, Moananui Living Systems revitalisation, climate change and adaptation in the Pacific, and approaches to resilience and adaptive capacity grounded in Indigenous and place-based knowledges.

Sibyl is particularly interested in weaving western and Indigenous Māori and Moana-nui Oceania knowledge systems, alongside the development and indigenisation of built environment education.

Dr Jessica Halliday

Director | Te Pūtahi Centre for Architecture and City Making

Dr Jessica Halliday is an architectural historian and Director and co-founder of Te Pūtahi Centre for Architecture and City Making. She describes herself as “blessed (and cursed) by a love of architecture and Christchurch”, and is passionate about finding ways for more people to engage with cities, architecture and the decisions shaping our built environment.

Te Pūtahi is an independent non-profit organisation that works to increase public involvement in city-making through a diverse and inclusive programme of events and engagement. Its work includes Open Christchurch, Aotearoa’s largest architecture festival, alongside public conversations and programmes that make specialist ideas about cities and place more accessible to wider audiences.

Dr Antony Shadbolt

Team Leader Biodiversity | Christchurch City Council

Dr Antony Shadbolt trained as a landscape architect before completing postgraduate study in forestry science, with a focus on landscape ecology and wildlife behaviour in tropical forests. He now leads Christchurch City Council’s Parks Biodiversity Team.

Antony has been a key driver of native forest restoration across Ōtautahi Christchurch, including work to protect and develop what may be Aotearoa’s only fully restored source-to-sea urban river reserve network along the Pūharakekenui Styx River. His work spans Council, community and ecological restoration, including support for the Styx Living Laboratory Trust.

Antony is also a Trustee of Trees for Canterbury, a project of the Green Effect Trust, and the newly established Willowbank Foundation.

Professor Bronwyn Hayward MNZM FRSNZ

Professor of Political Science and International Relations | University of Canterbury

Professor Bronwyn Hayward is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury, where she directs Hei Puāwaitanga, the Sustainability, Citizenship and Civic Imagination Research Group.

Her research focuses on climate change, sustainability, democracy, cities, citizenship and the wellbeing of children and young people. She has held several roles with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including Coordinating Lead Author for the Cities, Settlements and Key Infrastructure chapter and a member of the core writing team for the Sixth Assessment Report synthesis.

Bronwyn leads international research on sustainable, low-carbon urban futures and youth wellbeing, and has also worked with Māori and Pacific youth on climate change. She is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, a Fellow of Royal Society Te Apārangi, and convened Adaptation Futures 2025 in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Zach Barker

Associate Landscape Architect | Isthmus

Zach Barker is an Associate Landscape Architect at Isthmus, based in Tāmaki Makaurau, working across public realm design, ecological restoration and habitat design.

As part of Isthmus’s Regeneration Champion Network, he explores embodied carbon in built landscapes and how material choices shape landscape performance. His practice is informed by professional experience in Aotearoa New Zealand and the United States, bringing a cross-cultural perspective to climate-responsive design.

His current work focuses on making carbon accounting more meaningful to landscape architects, not simply as a reporting exercise, but as a tool for questioning material choices and informing everyday design decisions.

Joshua Joe

Digital Innovation Lead | Isthmus

Joshua works at the intersection of design, strategy and digital innovation at Isthmus, helping project teams work smarter, make informed decisions and advocate for better design outcomes through design technologies.

With a background in architecture and experience across landscape, urban design and masterplanning, Josh combines hands-on project work with building digital capability and strategy across the practice. His work spans housing, civic, masterplanning and infrastructure projects across the motu, using computational and generative design, BIM, geospatial tools, visualisation and applied AI to test options, understand design problems and put evidence behind good design decisions.

Josh is interested in what these tools enable for people: clearer conversations, stronger evidence and greater confidence to defend the things that matter. He believes digital tools should support human judgement, respect place and help designers and communities achieve better outcomes together for whenua and people.

Hugh Smith

Registered Landscape Architect | Kainga Ora

Hugh Smith specialises in urban regeneration and neighbourhood development. His work spans public open space, multimodal transport and blue-green infrastructure, creating connected places that enable communities to thrive.

He focuses on place-based and nature-led solutions that respond to whenua, context and community aspirations while balancing the demands of growth, resilience and long-term stewardship. Hugh has extensive experience working within complex multidisciplinary environments, integrating landscape-led thinking into regeneration programmes at neighbourhood and city scales.

He is particularly interested in the role landscape architecture can play beyond traditional project boundaries, including its influence on urban regeneration, housing intensification, wellbeing and community ownership. This includes exploring open space as the backbone of neighbourhoods, supporting social connection, environmental resilience, stewardship and a stronger sense of belonging.

Nicole Tune

Senior Professional Landscape Architect | Boffa Miskell

Nicole Tune is a Senior Professional Landscape Architect at Boffa Miskell in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. She is developing her practice across a range of landscape architecture projects, taking ideas from early design through to construction.

Six years in, Nicole remains curious about the process of becoming a better landscape architect and what that might mean: developing her own design approach while learning from the people and disciplines around her, and exploring how good ideas can be translated into thoughtful, well-resolved outcomes.

She enjoys working through a design at different scales, from the larger spatial moves that shape public space to the smallest details. Her projects have also created opportunities to work alongside different communities and consider how their knowledge, experiences and aspirations can shape the design process.

Nicole Thompson

Landscape Architect and Director | Wraight + Associates

Nicole is a landscape architect and director of Wraight + Associates in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. A displaced dingo besotted with Farewell Spit and the many wonders of Aotearoa, she loves a riddle and can think of few endeavours more satisfying than working with others to understand, shape, harness, amplify and protect the complex puzzle that is our environment.

Bernice Cumming

Architectural Consultant | Firth Industries Ltd

Bernice is an innovative and insightful professional with over 30 years of experience in the concrete and masonry construction industry. As an Architectural Consultant for Firth Industries Ltd, she is deeply passionate about delivering a sustainable tomorrow for future generations through targeted innovation and education. Bernice actively champions a forward-thinking construction sector, driving initiatives that create positive impacts on the wider environment, local communities and our fundamental connection to the land.

Helen Kerr

Principal Landscape Architect and Urban Designer | Isthmus Group

Helen is a Principal Landscape Architect and Urban Designer at Isthmus Group. She has 26 years of experience leading award-winning projects in Aotearoa, with participatory design at the heart of place-based regeneration. Helen has experience in community-centred climate adaptation planning and was project lead for the Westport adaptation masterplan Cutting our Own Track, which won the LGNZ 2025 SuperIdea Award. Helen works with communities all over the motu and is based in the Ōtautahi Isthmus studio.

Henry Crothers

Design Director | LandLAB

Henry Crothers is Design Director at LandLAB and a leader in landscape-led urbanism, public realm design and placemaking. He has provided design leadership for many of Aotearoa’s most significant urban renewal, transport and public space projects. Henry’s work is shaped by the connections between natural, social and built systems, creating places that are both resilient and people-focused.

Brad Ward

Associate Landscape Architect and Urban Designer | Isthmus Group

Brad is an experienced Associate Landscape Architect and Urban Designer, having worked on large-scale masterplanning projects such as Hobsonville Point and Northcote regeneration for over a decade. He was instrumental to the success of the Westport adaptation masterplan and combines advanced skills in generative and computational design with scenario development and deep technical knowledge. He is based in the Ōtautahi Isthmus studio, heads up the national urban design team at Isthmus and is currently studying for an MBA.

Matthew Bradbury

Discipline Leader, Landscape Architecture | Unitec School of Architecture

Associate Professor Matthew Bradbury is the Discipline Leader of the Landscape Architecture programme at Unitec School of Architecture. His research investigates climate adaptation and resilience, focusing on pluvial flooding, managed retreat and the role of landscape in shaping resilient urban and regional futures.

Peter Whiting

Landscape Architect | WhitingLDM

Peter Whiting brings more than 30 years of experience in landscape architecture, with a diverse background spanning design, construction, architectural drafting and high-performance sport. His practical, collaborative approach focuses on delivering functional, enduring landscapes, from early planning and masterplanning through to implementation and long-term management.

He has led landscape and urban design outcomes for some of Aotearoa’s most significant infrastructure projects, including the Waterview and Victoria Park tunnels, Newmarket Viaduct Replacement and Kaikōura transport infrastructure recovery programme. His experience also includes development projects such as Tara Iti, Te Arai North, Wawata Estate and Rangitoopuni, where landscape planning and long-term land stewardship are central to the design process.

Peter is increasingly focused on climate adaptation and resilient design, exploring how landscape architecture can strengthen environmental performance, support communities and deliver sustainable outcomes for future generations.

MC

James Daniels

Broadcaster, board member and former Christchurch City Councillor

James Daniels brings more than four decades of experience across broadcasting, governance and civic life to his role as MC of Ka Rū Ka Hā.

During a 45-year broadcasting career, James co-hosted Newstalk ZB’s Afternoons with Simon Barnett, leading conversations on issues that matter to New Zealanders. He also served on Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu during Sir Mark Solomon’s 19-year period as chair, and spent five years on the board of Ngāi Tahu Property. He has also served on the board of Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.

In 2019, James was elected as a Christchurch City Councillor, later leaving the role to return to Newstalk ZB.

Away from the mic, James spends time with his five children and eight mokopuna, sings cabaret with his trio The Pack Rats, and is an avid reader of non-fiction and biography.