Environment & Planning

The Court of Appeal has dismissed the Canterbury Regional Council’s (the Council) appeal of the High Court’s decision on how to find the “bed” of a river under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The litigation arose because of the prosecution of Dewhirst and Dewhirst Land Company Ltd for works undertaken in the Selwyn River …

Dewhirst update: the bed of a river begins with its banks, not its fullest flow Read More »

Photo from:  Ministry for the Environment. 2019. Action for healthy waterways – A discussion document on national direction for our essential freshwater. On 5 September 2019 the Government released the long-awaited package of freshwater reforms. The Action for Healthy Waterways package seeks to stop the degradation of New Zealand waterways and restore them to a …

Action for Healthy Waterways: Proposed National Environmental Standards for Freshwater Read More »

Photo from:  Ministry for the Environment. 2019. Action for healthy waterways – A discussion document on national direction for our essential freshwater. The Government released its proposals for freshwater management reform on 5 September 2019, including a consultation draft of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (“Consultation Draft”) which, once finalised, will represent the …

Take Four: Draft NPS for Freshwater Management Read More »

National Policy Statement on Urban Development: one of four public consultations opened this month The month of August has seen a flurry of activity coming from the Ministry for the Environment, with its proposed National Policy Statement (NPS) on Urban Development being released hot on the heels of the proposed NPS for Highly Productive Land. …

National Policy Statement on Urban Development 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 »

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 …

What is the “bed” of a braided river? Read More »

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 …

Ministry for the Environment releases Best Practice Guidelines for RMA Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement Read More »