Focus sharpens on law reforms
A substantial increase in financial penalties for environmental offending is being signalled in a Government document on pending resource management law reforms.
The report, Our future resource management system, with a foreword by Environment Minister David Parker, has been circulated recently without fanfare, seeking feedback from local government, stakeholders and iwi/Māori groups.
Ideas for reforming the environmental offending and penalties regime were raised recently in a paper by Waikato Regional Council’s compliance manager, Patrick Lynch, who called for consideration of scrapping jury trials for such offending and suggested stiffer fines could be handed out.
The minister’s office pointed to the consultation document when asked for comment on the issues raised by Lynch.
On compliance, monitoring and enforcement, it said a ‘‘robust and effective’’ system was needed to support the reforms to be introduced to Parliament this year. Proposed changes included ‘‘a substantial increase in financial penalties’’, ending insurance against prosecution and infringement fines, and allowing consent authorities to consider an applicant’s compliance history.
New intervention tools such as ‘‘enforceable undertakings and consent revocation’’ are also suggested.
However, there was no mention of jury trials for environmental offending being scrapped or restricted.
In a statement last year, Parker also spoke about how the reforms would provide an ‘‘effective role for Māori’’.
The document said: ‘‘A national entity would be established to enable Māori as Treaty partners to participate in decision-making at a national level.’’
When it came to compliance, monitoring and enforcement (CME) of rules, the document said: ‘‘Opportunities would be made available to provide a more strategic role for Māori in the system, and to strengthen the role of Māori in consenting and CME services.’’
The Government was aiming to replace the Resource Management Act with a Natural and Built Environments Act and a Strategic Planning Act within the current parliamentary term, the document said.