John Graham Sneyd 1985 – 1989

In his last year at the King's High School Prizegiving John gained the special English Prize and a General Excellence Prize in four subjects. John said “I really just meandered through high school showing no remarkable talents. The only thing that really interested me was sport”. In spite of what he said John did gain an A Bursary pass. He played in the 1st XI Football team where he is noted in the King’s magazine as being “A steady and consistent player”. The team was unbeaten in all the interschools.

John was also a member of a strong King’s Debating Team along with Grant Robertson, Luke Merriman and Gareth McMillan.

On leaving King’s John attended the University of Otago where he graduated in 1995 with a double degree. A Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours.

After University he worked first for Roy Somerville as a Researcher on his Civil Litigation and Resource Management cases, and then for Judith Ablett Kerr as a Junior Criminal Law Barrister. The first was uneventful and rather dull; the second was far from that. “Judith was a superb criminal advocate – I have not ever seen anyone better – but her brilliance was tempered with unpredictability and a fierce temper.”

John and his wife left New Zealand in January 1997 on their OE. Two years, mostly in Europe, working in pubs and backpacking. By the end of 1998, they were ready to come back to New Zealand. He picked up a job at a large commercial law firm in Wellington.

John’s legal ability came to the fore when he was appointed Chief Legal Advisor to the Department of Building and Housing in October 2007. He held this position until October 2012. Later in October 2012 John became the Chief Legal Counsel for the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, a job he held in Wellington until April 2020. His next job was as General Manager for Building System Performance with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. He held this Wellington position from April 2020 until February 2023.

He was appointed to the job he currently holds in Wellington as General Manager Regulatory Services with the Department of Internal Affairs in February 2023. He is really excited to dive into this role focusing on the gambling and anti-money-laundering regulatory systems.