Peter McKinlay

Peter is the firm's Executive Director.

His specialist interests are public policy and local governance , the design of governance structures and organisational strategy.

As well as his consulting work, Peter is the Director of the Local Government Centre at AUT University, New Zealand’s first university-based think tank dedicated to local government. The Centre has both a New Zealand and international focus and has established a number of linkages with leading think tanks internationally.

Peter is leading the LGC’s work on different options for the future of metropolitan governance in Auckland. This has included authorship of a number of major papers dealing with different aspects of local government which should be considered in addressing major restructuring.  He represents New Zealand on the Research Advisory Group of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum and is a member of the advisory board of the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance.

Peter’s expertise in local government has been recognised by his appointment to a panel of ten international experts drawn from England, Europe, North America and Australasia for a series of ‘Future of Local Government’ Summits held annually in Melbourne since 2005.

He has more than 25 years experience as a combination of consultant, adviser and strategic policy analyst on a wide range of public sector issues, in both central and local government. 

In 1985 he left the staff of the Treasury to pursue his interest in the relationship between different types of governmental organisational structure and their ability to deliver intended outcomes.

He has done significant work on the structure and governance of Crown Entities including Crown Research Institutes, on tertiary institutions and on the allocation of functions between government departments. A report he wrote for the State Services Commission was, for a number of years, effectively the handbook for considering the role and function of Crown entities.

In the field of local government and local governance he has undertaken a number of major strategic assignments which have included options for the funding of local government and extensive work on the use of trusts, LATEs and other arms length structures.

His report for Local Government New Zealand and a group of co-funders on Realising the Potential of the Community Outcomes Process is having a major impact on understanding the community outcomes process as community based strategic planning.
Peter also works closely with the Institute of Public Policy at AUT University. Together, MDL and IPP have undertaken a number of assignments on regional economic development.

Outside work Peter’s interests include cooking, wine, supporting New Zealand artists and getting to know five young grandchildren.

He can be contacted at peter@mdl.co.nz

Adrienne von Tunzelmann

Adrienne is a Principal in the firm.

Drawing on her familiarity with government process and policy, much of her consulting work relates to governance and policy review in central and local government. She has, for example, undertaken a review of board procedure for a large crown agency and had key roles in independent reviews of significant areas of public policy. She has in-depth expertise in the institution of Parliament, having held the position of Head of the Select Committee Office and Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives, and participated in a number of reviews of parliamentary administration and expenditure.   

Adrienne has worked in some depth on voluntary and community sector issues. A feature of her work has been the development and implementation of approaches to partnership between public bodies and community organisations.

She has a good understanding of the commercial regulatory environment. Having undertaken ground-breaking work on corporate social responsibility in New Zealand (her book on the subject was published by the Institute of Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington), she has maintained an up-to-date knowledge of shifts in business practice towards 'main-streaming' the social and stakeholder dimensions of business enterprise.

Her understanding of the business environment has been enhanced at the practical level by her work with the Chamber of Commerce which has included two years as President of the Tauranga Chamber.

A move into governance has seen Adrienne appointed as a Director of the board of Pharmac (the New Zealand Government’s drug purchasing agency), trustee of the Bay of Plenty Community Trust where she chairs the Audit and Research Committees, member of the Council of Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi where she chairs the board’s Policy and Procedure Committee, and trustee of the University of Waikato Foundation. She has had lead roles in a range of voluntary and professional organisations including long-standing past Chair of the New Zealand Women's Refuge Foundation and past President of the New Zealand Institute of Public Administration.

Adrienne has a First Class Honours degree in economics from the University of Canterbury and a Master of Public Policy (with Distinction) from Victoria University of Wellington. She holds the Institute of Directors' Certificate in Company Directorship and is a graduate of advanced management programmes in New Zealand and overseas (including executive management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management).

In her non-work time she is a keen house-renovator, dedicated Pilates student, movie-goer and book fan.

She can be contacted at adrienne@mdl.co.nz