Debra Blackett

LLB (Hons)

Juno Lawyer

Wellington

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Debra "Deb" Blackett | Juno Legal | Lawyer

Capability 

I have over 20 years of experience in senior and executive roles across a range of industries as General Counsel, including Telecom NZ (now Spark), ANZ New Zealand, BP Oil NZ Limited, and Z Energy Limited. In these roles, I’ve led legal and regulatory teams, served as a member of executive teams, and provided governance advice—covering board advisory and management, external reporting, and stock exchange relationships in both New Zealand and Australia.

My background also includes finance roles at ANZ and consulting for the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), where I contributed to establishing the initial FMA board and enforcement strategy designed to build on lessons from the Global Financial Crisis. As General Counsel at ANZ, I navigated regulatory, central banking, and ongoing industry changes in the context of heightened external scrutiny. More recently, I’ve advised a registered bank on the Commerce Commission’s market study into personal banking services.

Juno Clients

Sharesies, Marlborough District Council, OMV New Zealand

Before Juno

Z Energy | General Counsel and Head of Climate Change (Ampol and Z)
BP Oil New Zealand Limited | General Counsel
Financial Markets Authority | Consultant
ANZ New Zealand Limited | General Counsel
Telecom NZ Limited | General Counsel, Competition, Regulation and Litigation
DLA Piper | Solicitor
Chapman Tripp | Solicitor

Areas of expertise

  • Competition and regulatory issues across a range of industries including telco regulation, banking and finance sector regulation, fuel sector regulation, market studies.
  • ESG and climate change regulation, greenwashing, and global climate related litigation, most recently publication of Z Energy Limited’s 2024 Climate Related Financial Disclosure.
  • Significant experience in health, safety and environmental law, regulation and operational issues.
  • Significant experience in risk management.
  • M&A experience, most recently the Ampol Australia acquisition of Z Energy by means of a Scheme of Arrangement in May 2022 and the acquisition by Z of Caltex New Zealand and Flick Energy as well as advising on full and partly held subsidiaries and other listed and non-listed joint ventures.

Governance

Appointed as independent director to Enable Networks Limited Board and Audit and Risk Committee in December 2023.

  • Deb is an exceptional professional who combines practical application with vast experience, She has an impressive ability to pick things up quickly and make sound decisions giving practical and business centric advice. Deb also made a seamless transition to cover the Head of Legal role while I took a longer holiday, and both the team and internal clients loved her.

    Amanda Jones

    Acting Head of Legal & Company Secretary, Sharesies

  • Deb Blackett was an invaluable and seasoned Acting General Counsel whose expertise and judgment consistently added significant value. Her detailed handover covered not only ongoing work and key issues but also critical organisational insights, ensuring a seamless transition from her to me as the incoming General Counsel.

    Setareh Masoud-Ansari

    General Counsel, Marlborough District Council

Debra Blackett supports