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S+SNZ Planning & Resource Management study materials
S+SNZ Planning & Resource Management study resources

S+SNZ Planning & Resource Management: Statutory Framework for Planning and Resource Management

S+SNZ Planning & Resource Management · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Statutory Framework for Planning and Resource Management

Scope

This domain tests the statutory skeleton under planning and resource management in New Zealand: the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), Local Government Act 2002, Cadastral Survey Act 2002, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, Reserves Act 1977 and related instruments. Expect questions on hierarchy, statutory purpose and who exercises which function.

Core rules

  • RMA s 5 defines sustainable management; ss 6, 7 and 8 require decision-makers to recognise and provide for matters of national importance, have particular regard to other matters, and take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
  • National policy statements and national environmental standards sit above regional policy statements, regional plans and district plans. A NES can specify that a rule cannot be more lenient or more stringent, so always check the NES text.
  • Regional councils prepare RPSs and regional plans; territorial authorities prepare district plans. Unitary authorities do both.
  • The Environment Court hears appeals on plan and consent decisions; the Surveyor-General sets cadastral survey rules and the LINZ cadastral survey dataset provides the authoritative parcel framework.

Worked example

A subdivision is proposed on coastal land containing a known wāhi tapu and part of a floodplain. The planner first checks the NZ Coastal Policy Statement, the regional policy statement and the district plan. The s 6(e) relationship of Māori and s 6(f) historic heritage matters must be recognised and provided for; s 6(h) significant natural hazard risk is also engaged. An archaeological authority may be needed under the HNZPT Act. The survey plan must comply with the Cadastral Survey Rules 2021. Consent conditions can address effects, but they cannot cure a failure to provide for a s 6 matter.

Traps

Treating plans as the only relevant document; confusing an NPS with a NES; assuming the RMA is the only heritage statute; and forgetting that the Treaty clause is s 8, not s 6.