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1 Introduction

Between 1 January and 30 June 2004, 219 decisions were released by the Environment Court. As part of its role in monitoring practice under the Resource Management Act 1991 (the RMA), the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) commissioned Resource and Environmental Management Limited (REM) to analyse these decisions.

The Environment Court is constituted by the RMA and has jurisdiction under that Act, where its role includes considering references/appeals about the contents of regional and district plans and appeals arising out of applications for resource consent. The Environment Court also has jurisdiction under the Public Works Act 1981 (objections to compulsory taking of land); the Historic Places Act 1993 (appeals about archaeological sites); the Forests Act 1949 (appeals about felling beech forests); the Local Government Act 1974 (objections to road stopping proposals); and the Transit New Zealand Act 1989 (objections regarding access to limited access roads).

The term 'decision' in this analysis refers to a separately-numbered document issuing from the Environment Court. It generally does not include consent orders. It also does not include prosecutions, which issue from the District Court, and in respect of which sentencing notes may be issued. Nor does it include judicial reviews or appeals to higher courts.

Of the 219 decisions issues in the study period, 218 were issued under the RMA. One decision (A062/04) was issued under the Historic Places Act 1993.

This analysis helps determine where the resources of the Environment Court were directed during the study period.

The analysis firstly categorises decisions on the basis of their type, and makes an analysis of the composition of the Court that considered various types of decision.

It then analyses 'substantive' decisions which arose from appeals on resource consents, designations and plans or policy statements under the RMA, from the point of view of whether or not the original decision appealed against was upheld or overturned. A substantive decision is defined in this study as involving a hearing before a judge and one or more commissioners which considered matters of both fact and law. Enforcement and declarations are excluded from the analysis of substantive decisions.

For the purposes of this study, access was obtained to the full text of decisions through RMA-Net online decisions service.

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