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The Resource Management Act: Key facts about local authorities and resource consents in 2003/2004
What is the RMA survey of local authorities?
Every two years the Ministry for the Environment carries out the Resource Management Act (RMA) survey of the 86 local authorities in New Zealand. The survey includes questions about six key aspects of RMA process:
- numbers and types of resource consents processed
- the time taken to process resource consents
- the charges to applicants for resource consent applications
- Māori participation in the RMA processes
- monitoring, compliance and enforcement
- good practice by local authorities.
While the primary purpose of the survey is to monitor the effect and implementation of the RMA, the survey results have the added advantage of:
- promoting good practice and improved performance in local authorities
- providing a factual basis for analysing and responding to criticisms of the RMA
- allowing individual local authorities to compare performance with their peers.
The full report on the RMA: Two-yearly Survey of Local Authorities can be found on the Ministry for the Environment's website at: www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/rma/annual-survey/index.html
Five key facts from the 2003/2004 financial year
- 54,658 resource consents were processed through to a decision
- 0.7% (404) of resource consents were declined
- 4.8% (2,628) of resource consents were publicly notified (ie. public comment or submission was sought)
- 77% of all resource consents were processed within statutory time limits (ie. the standard timeframes set in the RMA)
- 56% of publicly notified consents were processed within statutory time limits.
Resource consents
Local authorities provided the Ministry for the Environment with information about the resource consents they processed in 2003/2004.
- 0.7% (404) of resource consents were declined.
- 4.8% (2,628) of resource consents were publicly notified, compared to 6.0% (2,921) that were publicly notified in 2001/2002.
- 87% of resource consent applications were able to be processed by local authority officers, ie. without the need for direct councillor or commissioner input.
- 1.2% (651) of all resource consent decisions were appealed to the Environment Court over 2003/2004, compared to 1.8% (893) in 2001/2002.
Resource consents processed in 2003/2004
View Resource consents processed in 2003/2004 (large table)
Consents processed within time
The RMA sets standard timeframes (statutory time limits) for the processing of resource consents.
- 77% of all resource consents were processed within statutory time limits.
- 56% of publicly notified consents were processed within statutory time limits.
- 74% of all consents using the limited notification process were processed within statutory time limits.
- 78% of non-notified consents were processed within statutory time limits.
- Section 37 was used to extend statutory time limits for 12.6% of the total resource consents processed compared to 6% in 2001/2002.
- Further information was requested from 35% of resource consent applicants, to enable their consents to be processed.
Figure: Percentage of resource consents processed within time
See figure at its full size (including text description).
Charges to applicants for resource consent applications
Consent charges vary depending on the type of consent (eg. whether the consent is notified or non-notified) and which type of local authority issued the consent.
Figure: Average median charge for consents issued by regional councils and unitary authorities in 2003/2004
See figure at its full size (including text description).
Figure: Average median charge for consents issued by territorial authorities in 2003/2004
See figure at its full size (including text description).
Good practice by local authorities
The results of the RMA survey are used to highlight and monitor the use of best practice by local authorities.
- 84% of local authorities formally receive resource consent applications within one full working day of their arrival at the council office, ie. the consent process began within one day of consent applications being lodged. This is a slight decrease from the 88% in 2001/2002.
- 79% (68) of local authorities formally monitor and report consent processing performance and make the results available to ratepayers.
- 90% (77) of local authorities in 2003/2004 define the environmental effects that must be addressed in consent applications for controlled and restricted discretionary activities. This compares to 81% (70) of local authorities in 2001/2002.
- 69% (59) of local authorities indicated that they follow a structured process (such as using checklists) to ensure that environmental effects are adequately identified and addressed in Assessments of Environmental Effects. This compares to 64% (55) of local authorities over 2001/2002.
- 65% (55) of local authorities indicated that guidance notes or checklists are available to staff making decisions on whether to notify an application compared with 73% (63) of local authorities in 2001/2002.
- 57% (49) of local authorities advised they have internal guidance notes or checklists available to staff on how to identify affected parties, the same as reported in the 2001/2002 survey.
Māori participation in RMA processes
Under the RMA local authorities have an obligation to take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
- 56% of local authorities made a formal budgetary commitment to Māori/iwi participation in resource management processes.
- 65% of local authorities provide their staff with guidance on matters of consultation and notification where Māori/iwi are likely to be affected parties in a resource consent application.
- 789 resource consent applications that affected statutory acknowledgements under the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 were received by twelve local authorities in 2003/2004 compared to 589 in 2001/2002.
Monitoring, compliance and enforcement
Under the RMA, local authorities are required to monitor the state of the environment, the effectiveness of policy and plans, resource consents and complaints.
Table: Percentage of local authorities undertaking monitoring and reporting
View Percentage of local authorities undertaking monitoring and reporting (large table)
- Those councils able to provide information on compliance indicated that 74% of all resource consents that required monitoring complied with resource consent conditions in 2003/2004, compared to 72% in 2001/2002.
- 58% of complaints were dealt with using informal means, compared to 75% in 2001/2002.
- 80 local authorities issued 1,157 infringement notices in 2003/2004. Within this 21 were defended (appealed) in the Environment Court and 194 were not proceeded with. The remainder were either paid directly or were still in progress at the end of the survey period.
Number of resource consents processed by local authorities
Local authorities are grouped into family groups according to their authority type and, in the case of the 70 territorial authorities, the number of resource consents that they process.
Local authority family groups and resource consents processed
View local authority family groups and resource consents processed (large table)
Next survey
The next RMA survey of local authorities will take place in the 2005/2006 financial year. The survey questionnaire will be released before 30 June 2005. Responses will be collected from local authorities after 31 July 2006.
For more information
If you would like to know more about the RMA Survey of Local Authorities contact the Ministry of the Environment by phoning us on (04) 917 7400 or writing to us at PO Box 10-362, Wellington
