Various Authors - The Big Questions: What is New Zealands Future?

His Honour Judge Andrew Becroft was appointed a District Court judge in 1996. In 2001, he became the Principal Youth Court Judge of New Zealand a role that he held until 2016 when he was appointed the Childrens Commissioner.

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Judge Becroft graduated from the University of Auckland in 1981 with a BA/LLB (Honours) degree. He practised in Auckland with the firm Fortune Manning & Partners until 1986, when he assisted with the establishment of the Mangere Community Law Centre and worked there until 1993. He then worked as a criminal barrister in South Auckland until his appointment to the District Court bench in 1996, sitting in Whanganui. Judge Becroft is married with three children.

Dr David Brougham is a senior lecturer at the Massey Business School, specialising in the future of work. His research looks at how smart technology, artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and algorithms are changing the workplace for employees and businesses. At present, he has had over 10 refereed journal articles, presented over 30 refereed conference papers and has made many media appearances and keynote presentations regarding the future of work. David is a member of MPOWER, The Healthy Work Group, and is the associate editor for the New Zealand Journal of Human Resources Management. He currently teaches the Capstone management paper at Massey University.

Leonie Freeman is an entrepreneur, business futurist, housing strategist and professional speaker. She has spent over 25 years disrupting and transforming businesses, largely in the property sector, and is a regular commentator in the media. She created the concept behind realestate.co.nz, which was originally launched as one of the first major commercial websites in New Zealand in 1996. In 2000 she bought and transformed a residential property management business, which she sold in 2007. Leonie has also been the director of Goodman Property Trust since 2011.

Over the past eight years, Leonie has been the General Manager of Development at Housing New Zealand and, in 2015, she led a strategic review of the Social Housing Programme. In 2016, Leonie launched the philanthropic initiative thehomepage.nz, with the sole purpose of solving Aucklands housing crisis. She was also the Chair of the Auckland Housing Summit in August 2017. Leonie is a Life Member of the Property Institute and was awarded the Supreme Property Award for 2017.

Theresa Gattung is a leading New Zealand business personality and the author of bestselling autobiography Bird on a Wire. From October 1999 to June 2007, Theresa was the CEO and Managing Director of Telecom New Zealand, where she led the company through world-changing technology developments.

Over the past few years, Theresa has been involved in a wide spread of governance positions in both New Zealand and Australia. She also co-founded the hugely successful start-up My Food Bag, which has a turnover of over $100 million. Theresa is involved with a number of not-for-profit and philanthropic interests.

In 2015 she was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and philanthropy, and was also inducted into the TVNZ New Zealand Marketing Hall of Fame.

Golriz Ghahraman is an Iranian New Zealander, having arrived in Auckland with her parents at the age of nine as an asylum-seeker. Since 2005 Golriz has worked as a lawyer both in New Zealand and at United Nations Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Cambodia. Her work has focused on human rights, including childrens rights and the rights of minorities, and criminal justice, building justice processes after mass atrocities happen. Golriz holds a Masters in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. In 2018 she became the first refugee to enter New Zealands Parliament, as a list MP for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.