John was appointed to the independent statutory position of Privacy Commissioner in February 2014. He is currently serving his second five year term. He provides independent comment on significant personal information policies and issues. Prior to his appointment, John practiced law in Wellington for over 20 years specialising in information law while representing a wide range of public and private sector clients. He has acted in legal roles for the Ministry of Health, State Services Commission, Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet and Inland Revenue Department. For 15 years, he held a warrant as a district inspector for mental health and has also been a district inspector for intellectual disability services.