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Subject: search.filters.subject.New Zealand. Resource Management Act 1991

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    Misfits of science and creatures of habitus : ecological expert witnesses across water resource management fields : a thesis submitted to Massey University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
    (Massey University, 2024-11-01) Russell, Matthew
    This thesis applies Bourdieusian field-theory to investigate the way scientific knowledge is converted into evidence to inform decision making across four key fields central to the development and enforcement of water resource management law in New Zealand: the New Zealand Environment Court, the Environmental Protection Authority, regional councils plan hearings, and ministerially appointed science and technology advisory groups. The New Zealand publicly funded science system now exhibits most of the characteristics of a “neoliberal science regime” (Lave, 2012), a regime constituted by an extensive and influential science "consultocracy" (Hodge and Bowman, 2006) a marketplace of expertise which encompasses the seven Crown Research Institutes, hybrid scientific research institutes and significant aspects of the university sector. This regime has structurally entrenched a series of contradictions across New Zealand’s publicly funded science system which have a decisive influence on 1.) scientific habitus across institutional settings, 2.) the production of ‘public good' environmental expert knowledge claims, and 3.) the way that ecological expertise is converted into evidence to inform decisions on RMA law and policy. While the autonomy of New Zealand’s publicly funded science system has been greatly diminished, the New Zealand Environment Court has developed a set of procedures and rules that are designed to reconstruct the idealised or ‘pure’ autonomous scientific community inside the juridical field. Some of these procedures and rules, most significantly those that relate to the still developing practice of expert-conferencing, have been replicated within regional authority plan hearings and science and technology advisory groups. These procedures function relatively effectively inside the Environment Court. Within quasi-juridical fields like the EPA, councils and STAGs however, politics and power have a significant influence in the process of converting scientific knowledge into evidence to inform actions and judgements, as well as the evidentiary burden that is placed on ecological and biophysical evidence versus other forms of expertise. The neoliberal regime favours agents with the greatest economic capital to engage experts, primarily industry and local and regional authorities. Aside from a small number of highly active ‘misfit' individuals, university-based experts are not major players in the Environment Court, which points towards the powerful authority assigned to expert-knowledge claims produced outside academia. Within this context, mātauranga Māori increasingly represents a corrective to the technocratic, ecological modernisation project embodied in the New Zealand RMA. Ecological misfits see mātauranga Māori as the most powerful articulation of 'public good' environmental values in Aotearoa today. However, the most vocal champions of mātauranga Māori tend to argue around the contradictions produced by the neoliberal science regime, rather than challenging them directly, arguably blunting its transformative potential.
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    Enabling development : the impact on residential amenity : a survey of the experiences of affected parties under the RMA : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Resource and Environmental Planning at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2009) Conning, Linda
    The majority of resource consent applications for land use under New Zealand's Resource Management Act 1991 are not publicly notified. This enables development, through the efficient processing of applications considered to be of minor or localized effect. However written approvals may be required from all persons the consent authority considers adversely affected by such applications. If these approvals are not forthcoming, the application is then subject to "limited notification", and notified, if at all, only to affected parties. A study was undertaken to determine what influences people to give or withhold such written approval, and what were the outcomes for those people. The study sought to discover whether responses within the process mirror wider environmental issues. In 2008 a questionnaire was sent to a sample of affected parties in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty, and in 2009, most of the respondents were subsequently interviewed. The theoretical framework behind the research is broad and ranges from the current planning context in New Zealand to the underlying philosophical concepts of the freedom of the individual and their rights, environmental justice, reasons and motivations behind planning disputes, including underlying psychological factors and the meaning of place. Whilst some responses were predictable, the extent of negative experiences was surprising, suggesting changes in both process and practice would lead to better outcomes for affected parties. Key Words: RMA, notification, planning process, affected parties, amenity, public interest, rights, justice, environmental attitudes, environmental behaviour.
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    The challenge of planning for urban residential environments under the Resource Management Act 1991 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Resource & Environment Planning at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2009) Ross, Joanna Margaret
    Planning for urban areas is a process of proactively and creatively providing for the future physical form of an urban area, including its design, development and subsequent use, through the development and implementation of policy and other measures seeking to ensure quality environmental, economic and social outcomes. Yet in New Zealand, the legislation enabling such intervention, the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), makes no reference to the term urban or any of the elements of the urban environment. This thesis proposes that there is a remit, and indeed a requirement, under the RMA to sustainably manage the built form, and that this should be sought through anticipatory policies in district plans. The extent to which elements of urban planning are currently being provided for in operative district plans was examined using content analysis as a research method - i.e. a word count of specific words/phrases relating to urban elements from which inferences could be drawn. The results indicated that elements of urban planning are being provided for in district plan provisions to a greater or lesser extent, although in most instances were not within its 'power house', i.e. the objectives and policies. Further interpretive analysis of actual district plan text suggests that references to urban elements lacked specificity. The results also showed that few associations existed between the various urban elements examined, and that there were no clear causal factors for high urban element word counts. This paper concludes that planners can confidently provide for elements of urban planning in district plans. In doing so their legacy will be district plans that are more strategic, and therefore in alignment with the purpose of the RMA - the sustainable management of natural and physical resources - as opposed to the prevailing view that they should take a more retrospective perspective, seeking only to avoid, remedy or mitigate the adverse effects of activities on the environment.
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    Environmental dispute resolution and consultation within the RMA : a case study : the Fitzherbert Avenue, cross river transportation dispute : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the Master of Philosophy in Resource and Environmental Planning at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1988) Johnston, Jane Ellen
    This thesis examines how democratically described new and revolutionary ideas came to be elucidated in the resource and environmental management framework provided within the Resource Management Act, 1991, and considers how they are given effect in current planning practice. The research focuses on consultation which seeks to resolve environmental disputes not only to achieve sustainable environment outcomes in an ecological sense, but also to give greater expression to democratic principles. This research undertaking is in response to a continually reiterated need to evaluate the effectiveness of planning practice in achieving its aims, together with a necessity to then take appropriate responses to the results of the evaluation, for instance as found within the Resource Management Law Reform reports of the 1980's, in planning publications, as well as in the Resource Management Act, 1991, itself. This thesis identifies the principles and objectives intended and anticipated to be realized through public participatory planning and environmental dispute resolution processes. It provides a theoretical framework for consideration of consultation and environmental dispute resolution processes, as it explores theory informing the characteristics of environmental disputes, and also the different types of consultation process able to be utilized for dispute resolution. The efficacy of resource and environmental management in achieving the principles underpinning, and objectives of, public participation in EDR processes is evaluated by consideration of participant perspectives of consultation processes. This research identifies and analyzes the benefits and strengths, problems and limitations experienced by participants in a variety of EDR processes that were employed to resolve a particular dispute - the 'Fitzherbert Avenue - cross river transportation dispute' - in Palmerston North, as a case study. An analysis between expectations and experience is extrapolated into an indicator of whether these EDR processes are achieving the RMA's intentions, in terms of the principles and objectives which necessitate public consultation. This research also provides some explanation for the experiences of participants, thereby indicating how and why the underlying principles and objectives are or are not being met. The research conclusions address the question, 'how well were the principles and objectives of consultation, within the context of the RMA, given effect or realised in practice?'. In drawing conclusions this thesis explores the uniqueness of a case study, but also identifies RMA implementation issues of more general relevance and interest. Analysis of generic RMA implementation issues describes consistent themes that indicate more needs to be done to effectively achieve the objectives of the RMA, as there are concerns about the abilities of planning practice and those responsible for implementing the Act to realise all its intentions. Concerns of relevance to consultation processes are discussed and suggestions for improving practical implementation of the RMA are made.
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    Environmental guardianship in New Zealand : a cross cultural encounter : a thesis submitted for the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Resource and Environmental Planning at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2002) Fernández, Paulina Hassey
    In New Zealand, managing natural resources and planning for the environment entail a cross-cultural encounter between the Maori and the Modern Western worldviews. As different worldviews, each of these groups gives meaning, form and order to their respective experiences of reality in fundamentally different ways. The Maori notion of a spiritual ultimate reality and the rational apprehension of a material reality in the Modern Western worldview produce incompatible and irreducible views over the guardianship of natural resources and the environment. The Resource Management Act 1991 as the major piece of legislation for environmental planning in New Zealand is, however, predominantly monocultural, i.e. based on Modern Western worldview as an absolute and exclusive approach. Therefore, the relationship between Maori and the New Zealand Government in this regard, is characterized by both a deeply-rooted imbalance, and a difficulty to effectively communicate and understand each other. It is suggested that the first step towards an appropriate framework for a crosscultural relationship, is to overcome exclusivist and absolutist attitudes and claims that sustain the predominance of the Modern Western worldview over the Maori. Creating communication and understanding in symbolic levels may bridge the gap between Maori and the Government, and lay the foundations to redress the imbalance in their relationship. Examination of the Resource Management Act and the Treaty settlement process suggests this is feasible and successful approach for dealing with cross-cultural issues and to move towards pluralism in managing natural resources. This thesis concludes in recommendations for moving towards pluralism in New Zealand environmental management, and thereby a reduction in the imbalance between Maori and the government.