Environment & Planning

Amendments to the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL)

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The NPS-HPL came into effect on 17 October 2022. Since then, two issues have been identified about its restrictions on non-land-based uses and development. These are: The lack of a clear consent pathway for construction of new “specified infrastructure” (which includes renewable energy, such as solar farms) on highly productive land (HPL) in clause 3.9(2)(j)(i) …

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Submissions invited on Emissions Trading Scheme Reform

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The Government has launched consultation on potential reforms to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). If adopted, these may significantly affect the benefits of having forest on your land in the ETS. As we’ve previously explained in our crash course on the ETS, the ETS was set up under the Climate Change Response Act 2002. It …

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Crash Course on the Emissions Trading Scheme

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The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is an extensive and complicated system with an increasing media presence in climate change related topics. The most recent example being a judicial review filed 9 May 2023 by Lawyers for Climate Action against the cabinet decision made by Minister for Climate Change James Shaw on the ETS. But what …

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Forestry Scrutinised by the Climate Change Commission

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The Climate Change Commission (CCC) has released a draft report with recommendations for New Zealand’s second emissions reduction plan, covering 2026-2030. The CCC is one of New Zealand’s key tools in monitoring and limiting climate change effects under the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019. The CCC provides independent, expert advice to relevant …

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RMA Reforms: Update on the National Planning Framework

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This article provides an update to our previous article on the National Planning Framework (NPF) dated 19 December 2022. To recap, the Natural and Built Environment Bill (NBE Bill) and the Spatial Planning Bill (SPB) are currently at the select committee stage with the intention of being passed into law in mid-2023. Recently the Ministry …

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RMA Reforms: ‘The National Planning Framework’

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The Natural and Built Environment Bill (NBE Bill) has created a new single integrated framework called the National Planning Framework (NPF). The NPF will be the equivalent of what is currently national direction under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) by carrying though National Policy Statements, National Environmental Standards, National Planning Standards, and some regulations …

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Climate change continues to influence planning processes

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As of 30 November 2022 the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) has been amended to require local government to ‘have regard to’ the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and the Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) when preparing or changing a regional policy statement or plan under the RMA. Before then, local government when developing regional policy statements …

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RMA Reforms: What is the Spatial Planning Bill?

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The Spatial Planning Bill (SPB) is New Zealand’s first formal framework for spatial planning and requires central government, local government and Māori to work together as a regional planning committee (RPC) to develop a regional spatial strategy (RSS). As an overview, the SPB works in tandem with the Natural and Built Environment Bill (NBE Bill) …

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RMA Reforms: Contaminated Land and Polluter Pays Principle

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The Natural and Built Environment Bill (NBE Bill) has introduced provisions into the NBE Bill to clarify and improve the management of contaminated land, and introduces a framework for the polluter pays principle. In the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) there are no sections that regulate contaminated land. Instead regulations for contaminated land are located …

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