Our People
The Hon. Dame Silvia Cartwright PCNZM DBE QSO DStJ is leading the Dilworth Inquiry as Inquiry Chair. Dame Silvia is joined by Frances Joychild KC, a senior barrister with extensive experience in cases of sexual abuse, as Co-Inquirer.
The Inquirers are supported by a secretariat.
To enable the Inquiry to function independently and confidentially, an impartial trustee will be appointed to administer the Inquiry. The impartial trustee will provide administrative services and a fully independent management structure to support the Inquiry’s operations. The Dilworth Trust Board has committed to funding all costs associated with the Inquiry through an impartial trustee, however it will have no influence over the Inquiry’s processes, findings or recommendations, and no access to the personal information the Inquiry collects or holds. The impartial trustee will be named in due course.
Hon. Dame Silvia Cartwright
Dame Silvia Cartwright has had a distinguished career as a jurist and advocate over the past 50 years. In 1967, she graduated from Otago University with a Bachelor of Laws and spent several years in private practice, before embarking on a judicial career. In 1989, she became New Zealand’s first female Chief District Court Judge and went on to become the first female High Court Judge. From 2001 to 2006, she served as the 18th Governor-General of New Zealand; only the second woman to hold the office.
Dame Silvia has considerable experience leading inquiries of national significance. Most notably, she led the 1988 Cartwright Inquiry into issues relating to cervical cancer treatment at Auckland’s National Women’s Hospital and more recently as Chair of the Public Inquiry into the Earthquake Commission’s handling of the Canterbury earthquake claims. She is an equality advocate, having served on the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and played a major role in the drafting of the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW Convention.
For her service to New Zealand, Dame Silvia was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1989, and Principal Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2001 and received the Queen's Service Order in 2006. Since her term as New Zealand’s Governor General, she served the UN for several years on the Cambodian War Crimes Tribunal as one of two international judges.
Frances Joychild
Frances Joychild KC is an experienced advocate with more than 25 years of practice in courts and tribunals with deep expertise in issues relating to human rights, professional negligence, sexual harassment and bullying, and abuse and assault.
Ms Joychild has acted as lead counsel in complex litigation, including representing the interests of more than 300 Lake Alice survivors before the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care in 2021. She has acted for Child Poverty Action Group, and on behalf of refugee applicants in test cases relating to judicial review, religious belief and breach of natural justice.
From 2003 to 2006 Ms Joychild served as Law Commissioner where she was responsible for reports on matters including delivering justice, Māori legal entities, Pacific human rights, reforming criminal pre-trial processes and customs powers. Prior to this she served as Counsel for the Human Rights Commission and Proceedings Commissioner from 1993 to 1997.
Ms Joychild is experienced in conducting reviews and investigations in the private and public sector, including leading the 2015 Inquiry into the Royal New Zealand Air Force. During the inquiry, she examined matters regarding the sexual misconduct of a sergeant in the RNZAF during the 1980s, and reviewed current systems to properly protect and prevent a similar instance occurring again. She also led the review into Department of Work and Income’s implementation of the 1997 Court of Appeal Ruka decision, as instructed by the Minister for Social Services.
Mike Wesley-Smith
Mike is Head of Secretariat for the Inquiry.
He was lead investigator for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care Inquiry into mistreatment of hundreds of children and adolescents in Lake Alice Hospital.
He has also worked as a lawyer and investigative journalist and has gained extensive experience working with survivors of serious abuse within institutional settings.
As Head of Secretariat, Mike manages the day to day running of the Inquiry.
Phillipa Mitchell
Phillipa Mitchell is the Legal Assistant for the Inquiry.
Phillipa has 30 years’ experience in the legal industry across a wide range of areas of law, predominantly refugee and immigration law, but also including human rights, employment, intellectual property, civil litigation, and most recently family law. She is looking forward to using her many years of experience to assist the Inquiry.
Chris Merrick
Chris Merrick (Te Whakapiko o Ngāti Manaia, Ma’ufanga, Niua, Tonga) is a Barrister based in Auckland.
Chris’ experience includes as a Crown Prosecutor, Defence Lawyer, and Youth Advocate. He has held roles as counsel assisting the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care and as a Deputy Chair of the Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal. Chris has also actively engaged in law reform particularly in relation to legal issues impacting children and young people and has regularly made law reform submissions on behalf of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa – The Māori Law Society, and the Pacific Lawyers Association.
Rachel Wybourne-Curtin
Senior Wellness Navigator
Rachel is a Senior Registered Comprehensive Nurse with nursing role experiences nationally and internationally in clinical, managerial, advisory, community and education.
Rachel for over 2 years was in the Wellbeing team at the Royal Commission into Abuse in State and Faith Based Care.
Emma Finlayson-Davis
Emma Finlayson-Davis is a Barrister based in Auckland and shares the role of lead Inquiry lawyer with Chris Merrick.
Emma was a Crown Prosecutor for almost a decade before taking an extended break at home with her children before they started school. She returned to work as a defence lawyer working for the Public Defence Service in their Waitakere and Auckland offices. After some time at the independent bar, Emma was appointed as counsel assisting the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, a role she held for over two years.
Shelley Nisbet - Investigator
Shelley was a police detective for more than 15 years, largely working in the field of child protection and adult sexual assault. After leaving the police to work in the private sector she returned to the police to work with the families of the deceased, survivors, and witnesses of the Christchurch Mosque terror attacks in March 2019.
For the last two years, she has been an investigator with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions. Her role involved interviewing survivors and investigating the abuse of children and young people in various institutions between 1950 and 2000.
Karen Jones - Inquiry Lawyer
Karen is an experienced litigator who practises across New Zealand and Australia in a broad range of civil and regulatory litigation and investigations. She is currently a member of Kate Sheppard Chambers.
Her areas of practice include employment, discrimination, human rights and privacy. She has undertaken investigations for private institutes in response to complaints of discrimination, bullying, privacy breaches and whistle blower provisions, and provided policy advice to state government agencies, large corporations and tertiary education institutes. Prior to being called to the independent bar in 2014, Karen practised at a number of litigation firms specialising in employment, civil, and medico-legal litigation in Australia and New Zealand.
Jamie Leighton - Wellness Navigator
Jamie is a Registered Comprehensive Nurse with Post Graduate Studies in Mental Health. Jamie has worked in several intensive mental health settings including addiction, child and adolescents, and forensics over the past 11 years. He has managerial experience also within the mental health and addiction sector.
Rizpah Evans - Wellness Navigator
Ko Kapunipuni te maunga
Ko Waikanae te awa
Ko Te Uruhi toku whenua
Ko Puketapu Te hapu
Ko Rawiri Paroke Jenkins toku whaea Tupuna
Ko Ngati Awa ki Kapiti Te iwi
Ko Rizpah Evans ahau
Rizpah is a Comprehensive Registered Nurse in New Zealand and Australia, who has specialised in mental health nursing. Nursing experience includes nursing on an acute psychiatric inpatient ward, GP liaison and community mental health roles. More recently spent 3 years with the wellbeing team for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith based Care. I am currently based in Western Australia and work remotely for the Independent Dilworth Inquiry.
James Watson - Investigator
James was a Detective Sergeant in NZ Police for 28 years largely working in the field of child protection and adult sexual assault.
Since leaving the Police in 2019 James has been a senior investigator with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions. His role involved interviewing survivors and investigating the abuse of children and young people in various institutions between 1950 and 2000.