Amendments to the consenting and notification provisions of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) came into effect on 18 October 2017, altering how resource consent applications are processed, and how notification and affected persons are determined.
Almost 18 months after its introduction to the House, the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill has passed its third reading. The wide-reaching Act amends the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), the Reserves Act 1977, the Public Works Act 1981, the Conservation Act 1987, the Environmental Protection Authority Act 2011 and the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012.
A few months ago we looked at Minister Nick Smith's 2 June announcement that the proposed National Policy Statement (NPS) on Urban Development Capacity was available for public consultation.
On 31 October 2016, the Minister announced that the Government had signed off on that NPS, and that it would take effect from 1 December.
The councils experiencing the highest growth will be most affected. That means Auckland, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton are in the frontline. Fast-growing cities like Nelson and Queenstown are also affected.
Parliament has passed the Building (Pools) Amendment Bill, which the government claims will strengthen pool safety compliance and reduce the accidental drowning of children
Splashing around in a swimming pool during the summer is a joy for many kiwi children, but the safety risks of having young children around swimming pools, particularly when unsupervised, are undeniable. In 1987, in a bid to reduce the number of accidental drownings of children, Parliament passed the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act, which required all swimming pools to be fenced. The introduction of this requirement has significantly reduced the number of accidental drownings, but in recent years the government has expressed concern that the requirements have not been enforced consistently across New Zealand, and that the enforcement tools available to local authorities for non-compliance were deficient.
We shine the spotlight briefly on three recent decisions of the Environment and High Courts concerning:
Auckland Council released its Decisions on the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan on Friday 19 August 2016. This Plan heralds a new era of planning for the region and its provisions will be of interest to many. The Plan and related reports may be viewed here.
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