September 2023 It has been a long and winding road, but the Government has achieved its aspirations to reform the resource management system in New Zealand. The replacement legislation, the Natural and Built Environment Act (NBEA) and the Spatial Planning Act (SPA) was given Royal Assent on 23 August 2023. While the NBEA and SPA… Read More.

September 2023 The Water Services Act 2021 represents an important change to the regulation of drinking water in New Zealand that will require modifications to many existing water schemes, particularly for rural suppliers. Created in response to the Havelock North campylobacter outbreak, the Act imposes significant obligations on owners and operators of ‘drinking water supplies’… Read More.

March 2023 The planet hitting a recent population milestone of over 8 billion people is certainly good timing for New Zealand's updated resource management framework, with the introduction of the Spatial Planning Bill and the Natural and Built Environment Bill (NBE).[1] These Bills are currently open for submissions. Main changes The new Acts will create… Read More.

June 2021 With the Government now confirming the repeal and replacement of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), this article explores what we can expect from the Climate Change Adaptation Act (CCAA). On 10 February 2021 the incumbent Government confirmed what many ‘in the know’ had been anticipating for some time – the Resource Management… Read More.

December 2020 New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme has been under reform since 2015, with the Government announcing various changes to the trading scheme that was commenced under the Climate Change Response Act 2002. The basic principle of the scheme is that organisations can choose to reduce carbon emissions, or off-set carbon emissions, by purchasing (or… Read More.

June 2020 The Ministry for the Environment along with Stats NZ has released Our Freshwater 2020, summarising updates and reporting on progress on four priority freshwater issues. Our Freshwater 2020 is the latest report on the state of the environment required under the Environmental Reporting Act 2015 (ERA) and builds on Our Freshwater 2017. The… Read More.

March 2019 The One Billion Trees Programme is a partnership with farmers to help them extract value from their land while contributing to the economy and ecology of New Zealand. There are two elements of the scheme: individual grants to plant trees, and partnership grants to people or entities who are focused on enabling trees… Read More.

November 2016 Campylobacter outbreak in Havelock North The recent water crisis in Havelock North is the biggest outbreak of waterborne disease ever recorded in New Zealand. According to the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, approximately 5200 people, one third of the town’s population, were struck by the campylobacter disease, which contaminated the town’s water supply.… Read More.