Attorney-General announces appointment of Whanganui barrister Bernadette Roka Arapere as District Court judge

Whanganui barrister Bernadette Roka Arapere has been appointed as a judge at the Hastings District Court.

Whanganui barrister Bernadette Roka Arapere has been appointed as a District Court judge based in Hastings.

Attorney-General Judith Collins announced this week that Judge Arapere would be sworn in on November 29.

Judge Arapere (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Maniapoto) was born in Taumarunui and raised in Manawatū.

She was admitted to the bar in 2005.

That same year, she began legal practice at Wackrow Williams and Davies Ltd in Auckland.

She worked there for 10 years, becoming an associate and director of the firm.

From 2015 to 2021, she worked at the Crown Law Office in Wellington as Crown counsel.

She joined the independent bar in October 2021 and, with Rohario Murray, established Kōkiri Chambers in 2022.

Kōkiri Chambers is a kaupapa Māori, virtual barristers’ chambers that provides an āhuru mōwai (sheltered haven) for barristers who are passionate about kaupapa Māori legal issues.

In 2022, she moved to her husband’s home of Whanganui, where she has been since.

Judge Arapere has a broad practice in administrative and public law, general litigation and the Treaty of Waitangi.

She is a commissioner of the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) and a deputy chairwoman of the Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal.

She has appeared as counsel at all levels, including the Supreme Court, and is regularly appointed as counsel assisting the court.