Legal fund cuts ‘unfair’

Slashed levels of funding and tight rules around access to a legal assistance fund are blocking Canterbury groups from a fair hearing on environmental issues, the Greens say.

Information released by the Environment Ministry shows the Environmental Legal Assistance Fund has massively underspent, and after a slight trend upwards since 2010, has had $445,000 slashed from its budget since the 2013-14 financial year.

The fund helps community groups, such as residents associations and Forest and Bird, to participate in major environmental decisions, under the Resource Management Act (RMA).

It helps those groups fund the cost of lawyers and expert witnesses in Environment Court cases and board of inquiry hearings for ‘‘matters of national significance’’.

Green Party environmental spokeswoman Eugenie Sage said the criteria to access the fund was no longer in line with the RMA and the Resource Legislation Bill, which was changed in December to fast-track some resource decisions.

Restrictions on accessing the legal fund has already impacted on some Christchurch organisations, wanting to submit on the Replacement Christchurch District Plan, which an independent review has found to be deeply flawed.

The District Plan was a ‘‘one-stopshop’’ for wholesale environmental changes, and in the case of Christchurch would be heard by a governmentappointed independent hearings panel.

‘‘So there’s no ability to appeal the plan to Environment Court, because it’s being done under an appointed jury panel, and [some groups] have been denied any assistance.

‘‘It means there’s no level playing field, because commercial interests have got much more resources,’’ Sage said.

‘‘So the fund’s been underspent; they’re holding these fast-track planning processes where there’s no ability to appeal to the Environment Court, so it’s absolutely critical that good information is presented at that stage to the hearing panel.’’

She also called for the application criteria to be extended to help organisations with marine consent applications for seabed mining and oil drilling in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone.

Figures show only $281,000 of a budgeted $680,000 was spent from the fund in the 2014-15 year.

The year before, $555,000 was spent from a total pool of more than $1.1 million.