If you are a landowner affected by a compulsory land acquisition under the Public Works Act 1981, Jenni-Maree is here to assist you.
Jenni-Maree has been appointed as an independent Mediator on the Land Acquisition Resolution Service Panel. She provides mediation services anywhere in New Zealand.
The Land Acquisition Resolution Service, also known as LARS:
1Is an independent mediation service, which has been created by the Crown for the resolution of property acquisition disputes arising from the acquisition of land under the New Zealand Upgrade Programme.
2Provides landowners, Waka Kotahi and Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) with the ability to access mediation, if they have been unable to reach a voluntary agreement for the sale and purchase and/or use of property required under the New Zealand Upgrade Programme.
3Is free for landowners impacted by projects that form part of the New Zealand Upgrade Programme. This extends to Jenni-Maree’s fees as a Mediator.
When applying for mediation with the Land Acquisition Resolution Service, you have the right to select Jenni-Maree as your mediator.
Jenni-Maree is known for her professionalism, together with her ability to be empathetic, practical, realistic, well-organised and thorough.
Jenni-Maree’s view is that parties should attend a mediation feeling comfortable and prepared. This is assisted by parties understanding the process, the issues, the documents that need to be produced, and with forethought about realistic ways to resolve the dispute.
Many parties who request Jenni-Maree to be their mediator have no previous experience with mediation. Jenni-Maree’s style, especially in undertaking individual pre-mediation intake meetings ahead of the mediation, will help these parties and their support persons to be prepared for the mediation, enabling a greater chance of successful resolution. This includes assessing and assisting the parties to reach agreement on what documentation is important for the issues in dispute, to agree on a process for collection of additional documentation and, if necessary, to utilise third party experts to gain an outside opinion or to break deadlocks, for example in the case of competing land valuations.
At the mediation itself, Jenni-Maree will facilitate discussions between the parties to enable the landowner to learn about the project their land is required for, to ask questions, and to explore options with Waka Kotahi and LINZ including working through disagreements around compensation or other matters. Jenni-Maree will ensure that these discussions are conducted in a safe environment.