Abstract
This thesis is an examination of national direction under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) in New Zealand. National direction is provided for by Central Government through the use of national policy statements, national environmental standards and national planning standards as instruments that direct and support local authorities to implement the RMA for matters of national significance.
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the use of national direction under the RMA as a top-down policy intervention used by Central Government to address nationally significant resource management issues. This thesis explores the change in the use of national direction over the last decade, as well as the challenges local governments have faced when implementing a direction. This is in context of historical lack of national direction in the first half of the RMA’s lifespan with many scholars attributing some failure of the RMA to the lack of planning direction early on. A paradigm change towards greater centralisation may have wide ramifications for resource management and planning because national direction alters the power balance between local and central government in plan-making and decision-making.
Currently, the RMA is being overhauled by the current Ardern-led Labour Government in favour for new planning laws to remedy the problems of the current resource management and planning system. Research into this area of national policy highlights the need to better understand national direction and presents as an opportunity to make improvements to the system.
Key informant interviews with resource management professionals around New Zealand were conducted to offer insights into their experiences with national direction at the regional level. A review of relevant literature was used as the secondary research method. The outcomes of this investigation uncovered that political factors and seeking system efficiency and effectiveness are key drivers to recent policy changes in the use of national-level policy. In consideration of the local challenges of implementing a national direction, there are many. The key barriers to successful implementation of national direction includes a shortage of qualified planners in New Zealand, inadequate funding or fiscal support from Central Government, unequal resource distribution acrosscouncils nationwide, tight timeframes and burdensome requirements under the direction, over-prescriptive directions, and difficulties with interpretation and re- litigation risks.
The key recommendations for enhancing national direction in the future RMA reforms includes changes to the way Central Government supports and guides the implementation of national direction through timelier releases of guidance materials, greater partnership building between Central and local government, the establishment of a national direction cross-government agency working group to improve coherency of directions across Central Government, and new legislative improvements that ought to be added into the new planning legislation.