The Government launched yesterday its overhaul of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) which, as described by Hon David Parker, “takes too long, costs too much and has not protected the environment”. The need had been highlighted by a reform project initiated by the Environmental Defence Society. Parker stressed that “if, with all our advantages, …
Comprehensive overhaul of Resource Management Act underway Read More »
The Productivity Commission, an independent Crown entity, has released its draft report on local government funding and financing following the Government’s request for the Commission to undertake an inquiry. The report runs to just under 300 pages, and includes useful context for the review, as well as high level analysis of trends in local government …
Productivity Commission inquiry: Local government funding and financing Read More »
The first set of National Planning Standards came into force on Friday 3 May 2019. These standards were released by the Minister for the Environment to improve the consistency of council plans and policy statements. Specifically, the standards set nationally consistent structure, format, definitions, noise and vibration metrics, and electronic functionality and accessibility requirements for …
Update: Court of Appeal affirms High Court’s decision What is the “bed” of a braided river? The High Court decision Dewhirst Land Company Ltd v Canterbury Regional Council [2018] NZHC 3338 concerned the correct interpretation of the term “bed” in relation to a river under s2 of the Resource Management Act (RMA). Determining the river …
Best Practice Guidelines for Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement under the Resource Management Act 1991 (the Guidelines) were launched by the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) in July 2018. The introductory message from Minister for the Environment Hon. David Parker says that the purpose of the Guidelines is to clarify what best practice looks like by …
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that Part 2 of the RMA is once again relevant to resource consent applications. On 21 August 2018 the Court of Appeal released its decision of RJ Davidson Family Trust v Marlborough District Council [2018] NZCA 316, which clarifies how Part 2 of the RMA should be considered in …
New fees and forms are introduced with small changes to service requirements due to recent amendments to the Resource Management (Forms, Fees, and Procedure) Regulations 2003. The changes are brought about because of recent amendments to the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) introduced by the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (RLAA). The change with the …
Minister for the Environment Nick Smith announced on 9 August 2017 that the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2014 (NPSFM) would be amended and gazetted on 10 August 2017. This represents the third set of amendments to the NPSFM since it was first gazetted in 2011 and then replaced in 2014. Much of the …
National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management: Take 3 Read More »
The government announced funding yesterday for freshwater improvement projects totalling $44M, with over $8M of that going to projects in the Bay of Plenty region. The grants are the first tranche of funding from the $100M Freshwater Improvement Fund announced last year and were made following a bidding process for the fund which opened on …
Urban Development Authorities – a fresh approach to urban development The Government is proposing new legislation to introduce Urban Development Authorities (UDAs). The proposal focuses around urban development projects – these are not limited to residential and can be in greenfield or brownfield areas. Under the proposal, a framework is provided to enable an urban …
