Summary
Drafting issues, objectives, policies, methods and ERAs is a key part of the public policy process. The requirements of the RMA mirror the key steps of the public policy cycle.
In the context of the RMA, well-crafted provisions have two important purposes:
- they create integrity, defensibility, and consistency for the plan
- they have specific decision-making value.
This summary checklist contains the questions you can ask to ensure provisions are necessary in the plan, in the right place in the plan, and well drafted.
Good practice checklist
- Does this provision add value, or is it merely repeating the provisions of the RMA?
- Will this provision have any effect on how other plans are drafted? Should it have an effect?
- Will this provision help decision making on a resource consent (including decisions on potential conditions)?
- Does this provision allow or provide for a proposal to be considered on the basis of environmental effects?
- Does this provision define the point of discretionary judgement? Does explanatory text provide guidance on what matters are relevant in discretionary judgement?
- Is the provision drafted succinctly, in clear, layperson's terms? What would it mean to a non-practitioner?
- Is this provision as specific as possible to my region or district?
- Is there enough information about what activity is causing or might cause an effect, what the effect is, and where it is happening?
- Can the effectiveness of these provisions be monitored? How? Is this made clear in the plan?
Good practice tip: checking provisions
Check the value of provisions by asking a colleague (ideally from the plan implementation section) what the provisions means to them, and how they would interpret it the provisions the context of a resource consent application.
