Hutt South MP and apparently the minister of nearly everything, Chris Bishop, takes top place as the most-mentioned.<\/p>\n
The people who have appeared most in the Property Insider column in the past three years. Back row from left: Chris Meehan, Chris Bishop, Scott Pritchard, Shane Brealey, Callum Mallett. Front row from left: John Love, Desley Simpson, Blair Peterken, Clive Mackenzie and Ross Taylor. Photo \/ Herald composite.<\/p>\n
The no-nonsense, hard-working minister has taken on multiple portfolios spanning housing, infrastructure, RMA reform, associate finance and transport since late 2023.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no shock that a column focusing on those very topics should feature him so regularly. <\/p>\n
Yet he initially seemed taken aback.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a bit surprised to hear I\u2019m the most written about in your column.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps I shouldn\u2019t be. It\u2019s been a really busy three years with fast track, RMA reforms and infrastructure reforms,\u201d Bishop said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a real privilege to serve in the roles I\u2019ve got and I hope to keep doing it for another three years. I think we\u2019re making a real difference tackling tough issues New Zealand has put in the too hard basket for too long.\u201d<\/p>\n
“I’m a bit surprised,” Bishop said when told he topped the column’s power list.<\/p>\n
Others differ.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like him,\u201d one friend told me when I leaked the outcome of the analysis to a left-leaner a few days ago.<\/p>\n
She was ignoring the fact that I\u2019m not running a popularity contest here. I\u2019m measuring how many times people have been cited in my columns to indicate influence and power.<\/p>\n
It is a testament to his influence and achievements that he is the most written about.<\/p>\n
Dubbed \u201cthe everywhere man\u201d in Hutt South, called Bish by mates, he was elevated to Attorney-General in April 2026.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not just his friends who call him that.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost people around Parliament from all sides call me Bish,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He ranked fourth in the Mood of the Boardroom<\/a> last week, behind Erica Stanford, Todd McClay and Mark Mitchell.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s nine men and one woman who gained the most mentions over three years in this column.<\/p>\n For lack of gender diversity, this column reminds me of New Zealand\u2019s top property developers: the 12 men shaping Auckland and beyond<\/a>.<\/p>\n How this was done<\/p>\n A data specialist at the Herald examined every story in our archive tagged Property Insider under my byline.<\/p>\n That resulted in him locating 91 columns.<\/p>\n The column debuted on October 17, 2023.<\/p>\n A person mentioned in a column counts once per column, however many times they\u2019re named in it.<\/p>\n So Bishop\u2019s 11 means he appears in 11 separate columns. <\/p>\n Where people appear in the same number of columns, we used total mentions as a tiebreaker.<\/p>\n 1: Chris Bishop<\/p>\n Whether he was featured announcing \u201cflooding\u201d the market with new houses by cutting red tape or addressing a housing summit, Bishop has been at the heart of many of this column\u2019s stories.<\/p>\n One pictorial highlight was last year when Bishop and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon opened<\/a> the first build-to-rent scheme: Kiwi Property\u2019s Resido in Mt Wellington. <\/p>\n 2: John Love<\/p>\n The CAB developer generated many mentions in this column but not always in a positive light.<\/p>\n That was for his The CAB<\/a> on Aotea Square, where he converted heritage-listed offices to apartments.<\/p>\n It featured often, partly because the penthouse, sub-penthouse and other units remain unsold after it was finished just as the market tanked.<\/p>\n It was also often in the column because of infighting between Love and the residents, which went all the way to litigation.<\/p>\n Love did not respond to requests for comment about his placement.<\/p>\n 3: Callum Mallett<\/p>\n Mallett\u2019s long involvement in the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) was celebrated<\/a> in February, one of the many times he was mentioned in the column.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is a surprise,\u201d Mallett said of his placement on the power list.<\/p>\n Then he acknowledged why.<\/p>\n \u201cThe long-awaited and much-anticipated opening of the Horizon Hotel and the NZICC will certainly have driven this.\u201d<\/p>\n Mallett is one of the more gracious people I deal with, and he didn\u2019t miss the opportunity this time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really appreciate the interest and passion you have for our business and our property portfolio, so thank you,\u201d wrote the chief operating officer.<\/p>\n 4: Clive Mackenzie<\/p>\n Plans for a second Costco at Drury<\/a>, launching the successful Resido build-to-rent in Mt Wellington and developing New Zealand\u2019s first Ikea at Sylvia Park were just some of the columns where Mackenzie featured<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last year, he talked about Kiwi consciously pulling back from committing to capital-intensive new development projects.<\/p>\n The company had cut gearing and Mackenzie said at the time more favourable market conditions were needed before pressing play on work in its development pipeline.<\/p>\n 5: Shane Brealey<\/p>\n With KiwiSaver chief Sam Stubbs, Brealey, who was raised in Thames, is leading the largest build-to-rent<\/a> development drive in New Zealand via Simplicity Living.<\/p>\n This Waiheke Island resident is an engineer who headed Brookfield Multiplex in New Zealand, then famously quit in a Jerry Maguire moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n Opening Te Reiputa at Mt Wellington and initial completions at the 330-unit Waitarua<\/a> off Ascot Ave in Remuera were highlighted lately.<\/p>\n 6: Desley Simpson<\/p>\n \u201cWhat a disappointment, I\u2019m the only woman on the list,\u201d Simpson said when she learned of her place.<\/p>\n The old Food Alley and ex-Yates building site is between Federal St, Wolfe St and Albert St and was one of the properties she talked about<\/a> in the column.<\/p>\n Most of its buildings were demolished<\/a> and the block fenced with barbed wire on top to stop entry.<\/p>\n Simpson said it was very sad the site had been left in that state for so long<\/a>. \u201cAuckland deserves better,\u201d she said of the 4371sq m block.<\/p>\n Commenting on the Parnell sinkhole hell, Seascape and Auckland Anniversary Day floods were other topics that brought her into the column.<\/p>\n 7: Blair Peterken<\/p>\n Blair Peterken, 45, a director of Colliers\u2019 capital markets team, said: \u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to be on the list. It\u2019s been a successful few years. You\u2019ve got to work hard and understand your clients and buyers and piece them together.\u201d<\/p>\n Colliers markets well-known properties and covers most sectors, which probably explains his prominence, he said.<\/p>\n He is originally from Rotorua. His lifestyle block-owning parents valued education and sent him to Hamilton\u2019s private Southwell School; then he was a boarder at King\u2019s College.<\/p>\n He acknowledges he made connections there: \u201cWith boarding, you really grow up quickly and form some great friendships.\u201d<\/p>\n The Colliers supremo featured a number of times for successful work selling a group of Woolworths, marketing an 11-building Te Atat\u016b property and Pak\u2019nSave in New Plymouth. <\/p>\n Woolworths Westgate was one of the significant properties<\/a> Peterken brokered with colleagues, along with the ex-Beca headquarters, 21 Pitt St, to Anne and David Norman\u2019s James Pascoe.<\/p>\n The $42 million sale of Shortland St\u2019s General Buildings, the $40m sale of St Kentigern Girls School in Remuera and the $38m sale of 110 Symonds St are some of the deals he lists as the larger ones here.<\/p>\n From 2014 to 2017, he was director and head of JLL\u2019s South Sydney office.<\/p>\n He joined Colliers as capital markets director in early 2017 and specialises in the sale of bigger commercial assets and mixed-use sites. <\/p>\n 8: Scott Pritchard<\/p>\n Precinct Properties\u2019 chief executive Scott Pritchard features regularly in the column, heading one of the NZX\u2019s largest listed real estate specialists.<\/p>\n Developing new $300m headquarters<\/a> for Beca, many apartment projects, the new waterfront tower<\/a> on the Downtown carpark site, and new student accommodation blocks<\/a> on Queen St and Stanley St are some of the company\u2019s projects.<\/p>\n \u201cHere comes Santa Claus (and Precinct)\u201d was the headline on one pre-Christmas column<\/a> in November 2024.<\/p>\n Outside Commercial Bay at Te Komititanga Square, two Precinct bosses watched a Christmas tree<\/a> go up.<\/p>\n 9: Ross Taylor<\/p>\n \u201cRomcom\u201d Ross<\/a> was nicknamed for his love of romantic comedy films.<\/p>\n He was Fletcher chief executive from late 2017 until 2024, so it\u2019s no surprise he featured often.<\/p>\n The civil engineer with first-class honours from the University of Queensland was raised in Brisbane by an \u201camazing\u201d mother but a father who \u201cleft early on\u201d.<\/p>\n Taylor is now a non-executive director of Australian infrastructure and construction business John Holland.<\/p>\n 10: Chris Meehan<\/p>\n The column\u2019s focus over the past three years was on happier times for Meehan.<\/p>\n That was well before Winton\u2019s meltdown with a series of resignations<\/a> and claims against the chief of the business, which listed on the NZX in 2021.<\/p>\n His achievements at Ayrburn<\/a>, plans for a now-delayed<\/a> high-rise apartment retirement project in the Wynyard Quarter and Cracker Bay were highlighted.<\/p>\nTop property developers Scott Pritchard of Precinct Properties, Shane Brealey of Simplicity Living, Simon Woodhams of Property For Industry, Steve Evans of Fletcher Living, James Spence of Goodman Property, Philip Littlewood of Stride Property, Simon Thomson of Auckland Airport, Peter Mence of Argosy Property, Mark Francis of Asset Plus and Centuria NZ, Brett Russell of The Russell Group and Dominion Constructors, Chris Meehan of Winton Land and Clive Mackenzie of Kiwi Property Group in March this year. Photo \/ Dean Purcell. Illustration \/ Phil Welch<\/p>\n
The opening ceremony of the Resido apartment complex in Mt Wellington was attended by Hauauru Rawiri (from left) of Ngati Paoa, Housing Minister Chris Bishop, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, and Clive Mackenzie and Simon Shakesheff from Kiwi Property. Photo \/ Jason Oxenham<\/p>\n
John Love at The CAB. Photo \/ Alex Burton<\/p>\n
Callum Mallett of SkyCity.<\/p>\n
Clive Mackenzie of Kiwi. Photo \/ Kiwi Property Group<\/p>\n
Shane Brealey at Waiatarua beside the Southern Motorway and off Ascot Ave, Remuera. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n
Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson is the only woman to make the Property Insider power list. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Blair Peterken of Colliers. Photo \/ Colliers<\/p>\n
A Woolworths: Peterken and colleagues brokered a number of sales of these supermarkets. <\/p>\n
Scott Pritchard of Precinct. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
At the window above, Nicola McArthur and Scott Pritchard of Precinct watch a Christmas tree being assembled. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Ross Taylor, previously of Fletcher Building. <\/p>\n
Winton’s Chris Meehan in happier times. Photo \/ Jason Oxenham<\/p>\n