Auckland lawyer, Denese Henare, has been appointed as a District Court Judge to serve in Auckland.
Judge Henare, who is of Ngati Hine and Ngapuhi descent, has been a member of New Zealand Bar since 1974.
She has practiced in the areas of Maori land law, administrative law and public law, appearing in the Waitangi Tribunal, Maori Land Court, High Court and Court of Appeal.
She was the principal legal adviser to Waikato Tainui in their Treaty settlement negotiations on fisheries, raupatu lands and the Waikato River and from 1997 to 2000 she was a Law Commissioner.
Denese Henare was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1997.
She will be sworn in on 30 October.
