1. Resource Management Amendment Act 2005

2. Review Process Consultation before and after review announced May 2004
Minister led process with local government as partner
Submissions before and after Bill drafted September 2004
Select committee process resulted in positive changes
Reported back June, commenced 10 August
Before the review was announced, the Ministry for the Environment had already undertaken considerable consultation with a wide variety of groups.
The Ministry and other departments had identified difficulties with both the legislation and the way it operated in practice. There were further discussions with key groups after the review was announced in order to gather their ideas for improvement.
The RMA review process was led by Ministers and worked across government to ensure all views were represented. Chief Executives of the relevant government departments were also very involved, as well as our officials.
Local Government New Zealand took a significant role in the process, particularly in making suggestions about how central government might be more effectively involved in big or complex local decisions.
The package of improvements announced by Ministers in September 2004 included proposals for amendments to the RMA and other actions intended to ‘tune up’ the way it operates in practice.
The Resource Management and Electricity Legislation Amendment Bill was introduced to Parliament in December 2004.
The select committee process attracted 322 submissions. As a result of these submissions and the select committee consideration, a number of positive changes were made to the amendment bill.
The bill was reported back to the House on 20 June 2005 and passed on 3 August. The changes to the Electricity Act were separated out before the bill was passed, so that it became the Resource Management Amendment Act 2005
The Act came into force on 10 August 2005.
The amendments to the RMA are just one part of a wider package of changes designed to meet the goals of the review. Work is under way on many other aspects of how the RMA works in practice, including providing leadership through national policy statements and standards.

3. RMA Review Getting better and faster decisions on resource consents
A means of working with councils when decisions are too big for local decision making
National leadership, especially national policy statements and national standards
The review focused on five key areas:
Improving national leadership
Improving decision making
Improving local policy and plan making
Improving certainty for consultation and iwi resource planning
Improving natural resource allocation.
The Government aimed to achieve these improvements without compromising good environmental outcomes or public participation.
It wanted central government to show leadership and give greater guidance to those involved in resource management.

4. Improving National Leadership
Nationally consistent standards (absolute standards)
Faster National Policy Statements with direct impact
Complements current work programme of developing NES and NPS
Ministerial powers: Adds to existing powers in the Act. Allows Minister some intervening steps to deal with poorly performing councils before appointing a person, which is available at present. New powers to request information without charge and within a timeframe. Investigate council. Direct Council to prepare plans or plan changes (first schedule process still followed). Appoint someone to carry out functions of council
Standards
14 national standards already introduced: 7 banning activities that discharge significant quantities of dioxins and other toxics into the air; 5 standards for outdoor air quality; a design standard for new wood burners installed in urban areas; and a requirement for landfills over 1 million tonnes of refuse to manage greenhouse gas emissions.
Scoping standards on raw drinking water sources, bio-solids, contaminated land, electricity generation, telcommunications and land transport noise
Scoping NPS for protection of rare indigenous vegetation, electricity generation and transmission
Working with other departments, local government and technical advisers on these.
Working with DOC on review of NZ Coastal Policy Statement
Freshwater standards and policies are being considered as part of the Sustainable Development Water Programme of Action.

5. Non-local decision making
Menu of options for Minister to intervene
Whole of government submission
Independent coordinator
Joint hearing
Appointing person to hearing panel
Call-in > board of inquiry
Call-in > Environment Court
Options developed with Local Government New Zealand acknowledge that some decisions need to be dealt with at a national level or with assistance from central government.
Menu of options: - anyone can request Minister to intervene. The Minister refers to criteria in the Act (in consultation with council) on when it is appropriate to intervene, then decides one of following: Not to intervene; Whole of government submission; Appointing intedependent coordinator to ensure process is run effectively; Direct a joint hearing be held; Appointing person to hearing panel; Call in – appoints either Board of inquiry (chaired by current or retired court judge) or refers to Environment Court. Decision made by that body, appealable only to High Court.

6. Improving decision making - councils
Further information requests
Accreditation requirements
Extra powers at hearings (mediation, required attendance at pre-hearing, strike out)
Complements training programmes for decision makers and council officers
Further information requests
Avoids ‘stand offs’’ over further information requests. Avoids councils using further information requests to delay processing a consent, and avoids applicants witholding important information until court stage (no advantage to them now)
Council give reasons for further information request, applicant must provide information within timeframe or refuse
Council must process consent, but may decline due to lack of information.
On appeal Court can uphold councils decision that information was necessary and decline consent, or decide that information was not necessary and either grant or refuse the consent.
Accreditation
Chair or commissioner must be accredited (within one year). Majority of hearings panel must be accredited (within 2 years)
Backed up by Making Good Decision Programme (next slide)
Powers at hearings
Can invite or require presence at pre-hearing. If required and do not attend without good excuse, they can be struck out
Can refer parties to mediation (with their consent). Can direct precirculation of expert evidence. Can control hearing (order and amount of evidence heard) can strike out irrelevant, vexatious submissions
Aimed at making council hearings more effective and more inquisitorial. Right of appeal (s357) against being struck out.
Come into force at same time as accreditation requirements (2 years) so ‘trained to use them’
All above to improve quality and consistency of decisions, advice and actions of resource management practitioners, build capacity and improve public confidence in RMA implementation.
Making good decisions – fulfills new accrediation requirements
Run in conjunction with LGNZ
546 attended so far
Monitoring and review of council performance is being improved and one-on-one assistance is available for poorer performing councils.

7. Improving decision making - Court
Environment Court practice has moved on
Improvements in hearing times
Court regulates own process
May still be ‘de novo’ hearing
But must have regard to council decision
Declarations on notification in future?
Many improvements have been made in the Environment Court already, including a new case management system.
The backlog of cases awaiting hearing has been substantially reduced - most cases can be heard within 6 months (unless parties are mediating). The Court will now contact parties within weeks of an appeal to refine the issues and decide if mediation is appropriate.
Under a new section 290A, the Environment Court must have regard to the decision that is being appealed. The Court is also given explicit powers to accept evidence that was submitted at the consent authority hearing and to direct how evidence is to be given to the court.
Having regard to council decision and taking evidence as read should assist in shortening hearings and time taken to reach hearings. It will help the Court focus on the issues of contention rather than having to fully rehear every application.
Declarations on notification may in the future be challengeable in the Environment Court rather than the High Court. This will happen by order in council when capacity issues are resolved. The Court would have the same powers as the High Court currently has on judicial review.

8. Improving local plan and policy making
2 year timeframe for council process
Reduced content
Variations become plan changes
Plans must give effect to RPS, agreed consultation process between councils
New/clarified functions for contaminated land, allocation and infrastructure/land use
There are a number of other technical amendments that will mean councils can avoid the current ‘variations to variations to proposed plans with some parts operative’ situation we have now.
All means plans should be operative faster, be easier to understand and be more integrated with other plans and regional policy statement
Contaminated land – regional council to investigate and monitor - likely outcome register of sites, no responsibility to remediate.
District Council to control landuse to avoid effects (ie no houses on risky sites)
There will be NES on contaminated land to guide
Regional Council function ‘strategic integration of infrastructure with land use policies’ intention to provide guidance in regional poliy statement which must then be given effect to by District Council
Councils must agree on consultation process for writing regional policy statement in triennial agreement\\
Also Quality Planning website and workshops on second generation plans held around country in June/July, gave advice, best practice examples, to ensure lessons learnt the first time round not lost

9. Improving consultation and iwi resource management
No requirement to consult on resource consent (may still be necessary for affected persons consent)
Consultation process for plans clarified
Council must keep record of iwi and hapu to consult on RM matters
Joint management agreements
No requirement to consult anyone (not just iwi) Consultation may still be necesary to gain affected persons consent.
Emphasis on consultation with iwi at plan making stage rather than at resource consent stage
Iwi consultation on plans – process that must be followed set out in Act
TPK are developing on-line register of maori groups which council will be able to refer to

10. Improving natural resource allocation
Regional council to allocate resources, including discharges
Existing consent holder has priority over new players
Existing investment and past performance taken into account
Transfer of discharge permits
Sustainable Water Programme of Action
Problem - some regional councils did not have allocation plans, especially for water, when they resources were under pressure. Some regional councils did not think they had express ability under Act to allocate resource between competing activities. Amendment Act now clarifies that.
Regional Council can allocate resources – including ability of resource to assimilate discharge
Assumptions of ‘priority’ for existing consent holders may be reversed by provisions in a regional plan
Recognises existing investment as a factor in deciding whether to allow the replacement of existing consents – this provides more certainty for business and the community.
Also consideration of use of industry best practice and whether any enforcement actions have been taken
Transfer of discharge permit may only be in same catchment (for water) or airshed (for air)
Minister could use new powers to direct preparation of plan or plan change to require a Regional Council to deal with allocation

11. Getting the message out
Information sheets
Update practice guidance on web
Meetings with stakeholders
Seminars with RMLA
Talk Environment Roadshow
Seminars with NZLS
Information sheets, available on website
practice guidance
RMLA seminars - August/September
Talk Environment - October 10 – 22 – Wellington 19th (RMA) and 20th (public)
NZLS seminars - October - November