The Resource Management Act 1991
represented an innovative and unique piece of planning and environmental
legislation when it was introduced. Since the Act was passed into law in 1991 it
has been subject to nine amendments, many of which were of the tinker' variety.
These amendments recognise that the Act has not been as successful in providing
the one-stop shop' for resource users that the Act was hoped to be. The latest
and most significant attempt at changing the Act was the Resource Management
Amendment Act 2003. The amendments made by the Amendment Act have proved to be
largely unsuccessful in achieving any significant changes to the way resources
are managed in New Zealand, and
have failed to address many of the concerns which drove the original Resource
Management Amendment Bill in 1999. The recent decision to discontinue further
investment in Project Aqua has once again placed the Act in the spotlight as a
significant hand-brake on major projects. This particular event has led to yet
another review to be undertaken this year. The review will focus on five key
areas:

1. achieving the right balance of
national and local interests;
2. improving the design and process for
local policy formulation;
3. improving the consent decision making
process;
4. allocation of natural resources (water,
air and geothermal); and
5. supporting measures for building capacity
and promoting best practice and implementation at the local authority level.

It is important for the business community
and the mining industry in particular to seize the opportunity that this review
provides to make sure that any amendments undertaken as a result of the review
achieve the aims listed above. The review needs to be considered in light of the
current regime for the management of natural resources in New Zealand. In
addition to the Resource Management Act 1991, the Crown Minerals Act 1991 and
the Building Act 1991, which form the core resource statutes in
New
Zealand, there have been other developments
affecting the regime. Special legislation over and above the Resource Management
Act 1991 has been enacted to protect the Hauraki Gulf and special legislation is
currently being considered to protect the Waitakere Ranges in Auckland. In the Hauraki District mining is
prohibited in some areas and a plan change mechanism is specified as the
appropriate tool to use in the event a mineral resource is to be developed in
those areas. The current review is a further opportunity to remedy the
inadequacies of the Act.