Ruminations on the Problems with the Resource Management Act 1991

This paper comprises two articles in which the author surveys the experience in New Zealand with the Resource Management Act 1991. It covers the origins of the Act, the failure of central government over a long period to use the policy instruments available under the Act, and the lack of substantial empirical research on the performance of the Act. It then looks at efforts made to change Part 2 of the Act that erect the environmental bottom lines in the legislative scheme and political battle that resulted in the abandonment of these efforts. The recent case law from the Supreme Court of New Zealand is examined. There are sections on enforcement, local authority involvement and the place of the Environment Court. The article concludes with an account of the most recent reform developments that involve both a substantial amendment Bill in front on the New Zealand Parliament to improve the processes of the Act and an examination of urban planning by the productivity Commission. Current concerns revolve around land for housing, especially in Auckland, and the conclusion is that concentrating upon one issue in that way has dangers for other aspects of the statute