Statement of Intent 2006 - 2009

Statement of Responsible Minister

Statement of Responsibility

Foreword

Part One: The Ministry

Part Two: Forecast Financial Statements

Our role as key adviser on the environment

The Ministry for the Environment is a government department established under the Environment Act (1986).

The Ministry is the Government’s key adviser on the New Zealand environment and on international matters that affect the environment. It provides leadership on the environment across both central and local government, while day-to-day environmental management is largely the responsibility of regional councils and territorial authorities. The Ministry also works in partnership with key sectors, organisations and communities to improve our environment.

The Environment Act defines the ‘environment’ widely to include ecosystems, people and communities, and natural and physical resources. Therefore, the Ministry’s interests and responsibilities cover the natural and built environment, and how people behave towards the environment.

It is important that the Ministry for the Environment sets out to fix problems that require central government intervention.

We play a central role in delivering the environment that New Zealanders expect and deserve. We need to achieve a clean, healthy environment and sustainable economic growth. We want to ensure that New Zealand has good environmental governance.