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Who else can you go to?

If you have tried to resolve your concern with the council, but are not satisfied with the outcome, then there are a number of different people, organisations or agencies you can approach, each with a different role and responsibility.

Further information on the RMA, including the roles and responsibilities of different agencies, can be found in the Ministry for the Environment publication, Your Guide to the Resource Management Act or the other booklets in 'An Everyday Guide to the RMA' series.

Local providers of RMA advice

A number of different people, organisations and agencies in your local community can provide advice on how to best deal with your concern. These include:

Check out your local community directory or the yellow pages to find out how to contact them.

The Courts

The Environment Court is the primary judicial decision-making body under the RMA, and is at the same level as the District Court. The Environment Court hears appeals from people who disagree with RMA-related decisions made by local councils. The Court can enforce their decision on a person, company or organisation.

You can ask the Court to overturn any council decision to do with a plan or resource consent application - but only if you made a submission in the first place or you have become a party to an appeal started by another submitter. You may also appear before the Court in support of someone who has filed an appeal. You might be able to have your case sorted out through mediation and avoid a formal hearing. In any case, you should get legal advice before you file an appeal.

For more information see 'An Everyday Guide to the RMA' booklet 6.1 Your Guide to the Environment Court and booklet 6.2 You, Mediation and the Environment Court.

You can apply to the Environment Court for an enforcement order to stop someone doing something that may be affecting the environment. Enforcement orders work best for ongoing rather than urgent problems. But the Court can quickly issue an interim enforcement order that will protect the environment while it considers a full enforcement order.

You can also lodge an appeal to the Environment Court if you disagree with an abatement notice that you have been issued by a council.

You may also apply to the Environment Court for a declaration which clarifies uncertainties in interpreting the RMA, should the law be uncertain on a particular matter. Your lawyer can advise you on whether this is necessary.

To find out how to contact the Environment Court visit their website: Environment Court website.

District Courts deal with RMA prosecutions. Councils or individuals can prosecute parties who fail to comply with the RMA, such as illegal discharges. The District Court also deals with unpaid or challenged infringement notices. To find out more about the District Court visit their website: District Court website.

If you disagree with a decision from the Environment Court or District Court, then you can appeal it to the High Court. Any appeal is considered on points-of-law only, rather than a reconsideration of all the matters that were considered by the Environment Court in making its decision.

Judicial review

You can also make an application for a review from the High Court if you disagree with the way in which a local council has conducted a legal RMA process. This is most commonly referred to as a judicial review.

Judicial review is the review by a Judge of the High Court of a decision to determine whether it was according to law, proper procedure, fair and reasonable.

Judicial review is not the same as an appeal. Judicial review is an enquiry into the process by which the decision was made, rather than the merits of the decision itself. The grounds for judicial review include mistakes of law, taking account of irrelevant considerations (or failing to consider relevant matters), or having insufficient information to reach a certain decision.

You are able to seek judicial review of a decision-making process by a local authority only if the option of an appeal under the RMA is not available (section 296 RMA).

Making an application for judicial review can be expensive. If you are unsuccessful, it is likely that costs will be awarded against you.

You can find out more information about the High Court at: High Court website

Office of the Ombudsmen

The Office of the Ombudsmen is independent of any other government agency and reports to Parliament. The Office investigates complaints about processes run by central, regional and local government organisations or agencies. It can look into any decision made by a central or local government agency that affects an individual personally. It can also decide whether or not a Minister of the Crown or central, local or regional government should have to release information that someone has asked for.

The Office doesn't investigate decisions made by Ministers of the Crown or local bodies as a whole, although it can look into any advice they have been given. The Office can't investigate matters that are subject to legal actions such as appeals before the Environment Court.

The Office of the Ombudsmen will usually investigate a complaint only after you've tried to resolve it yourself with the organisation concerned. The Office will look at the matter you complained of to see if it:

  • appears to have been contrary to law
  • was unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or improperly discriminatory
  • was in accordance with a rule of law or a practice that is or may be unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or improperly discriminatory
  • was based on a mistake of law or fact
  • was wrong.

The Office of the Ombudsmen usually resolves issues informally. But if it believes someone's complaint is well founded, it can recommend a local council put things right. Local councils don't have to accept these recommendations but usually do.

To find out more about the Office of the Ombudsmen, visit the Ombudsmen's office website.

Office of the Controller and Auditor-General

The Office of the Controller and Auditor-General is independent of any other government agency and reports to Parliament. The Office ensures that government departments and ministries, state-owned enterprises, local councils and other public bodies are doing their jobs properly and according to the laws they work under.

The Office can investigate how local councils spend public money. This includes keeping an eye on how they apply the RMA in their areas and their processes and procedures. The Office cannot investigate local council policies.

The Office of the Controller and Auditor-General will sometimes follow up inquiries from members of the public about how a public body has used its resources. As well as financial issues, this includes accountability, performance, governance and behaviour. For example, the Office of the Controller and Auditor-General can investigate how a council has delegated their decision-making under the RMA to council officers. They may report to Parliament or any other person following an investigation. The Office can make recommendations but can't compel organisations to accept them.

To find out more about the Office of the Controller and Auditor-General visit their website at: Office of the Controller and Auditor-General website.

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is independent of any other government agency and reports to Parliament. The primary objective of the Commissioner is to contribute to maintaining and improving the quality of the environment in New Zealand. This is achieved through giving information and advice to Parliament, councils, businesses, tangata whenua, communities and other public agencies.

You would contact the Commissioner if you have a complaint or are concerned about how a council or other body is managing the environment or their planning processes. The Commissioner may provide advice or decide to investigate concerns in more detail, based on their significance and current strategic directions.

The Commissioner has powers to investigate and report on any matter where the environment may be or has been adversely affected. The Commissioner has wide powers to obtain information at the same time as protecting the confidentiality of that information where appropriate. The Commissioner also has the power to report findings and make recommendations. However, the Commissioner does not have the power to make any binding rulings and is unable to reverse decisions made by public authorities.

To find out more visit the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment's website.

Ministry for the Environment

The Ministry for the Environment advises the government on the environment and anything that might affect it. It is responsible for administering the RMA, draws up environmental guidelines, can develop national policy statements and national environmental standards, and works on any environmental problems that can't be fixed at the local level.

The Ministry helps the Minister for the Environment carry out their statutory powers under the RMA.

While the Ministry can listen to and look into complaints on local issues, it can't reverse local council decisions or handle objections. The Ministry can only write to a local council about the complaint.

The Ministry provides information on the RMA on the website: RMA website. To find out more about the Ministry for the Environment visit: Ministry for the Environment website.

Minister for the Environment

The Minister for the Environment is an elected politician responsible for ensuring the Ministry for the Environment carries out government policy. Under the RMA, the Minister has the ability to require information from councils relating to their functions, powers or duties under the Act. The Minister is also able to investigate the performance of councils (relating to their functions, powers or duties under the RMA) and make recommendations for action to them.

If a council doesn't follow the recommendations of the Minister or give an adequate explanation of why it isn't taking the recommended action, then the Minister is able to appoint somebody else to carry out the actions in place of the council. It is likely that the Minister would only exercise their power if there were overall concerns about the performance of a council, not just a single complaint.

The Minister for the Environment is also able to direct a regional or local council to prepare a plan, change a plan, or prepare a variation to a plan to address a resource management issue relating to a council's functions under the RMA.

The Minister for the Environment is also able to intervene in resource consent applications of national significance. A range of options for intervention are available for the Minister to choose from.

You can contact the Minister for the Environment if you think an application for resource consent is of national significance or a local council is not performing its functions, duty or powers under the RMA.

Minister of Conservation

Under the RMA, the Minister of Conservation has particular responsibilities for the coastal environment, including preparing and adopting the National Coastal Policy Statement, approving regional coastal plans and deciding applications for restricted coastal activities. The Department of Conservation can also participate in proceedings under the RMA in its role as an advocate for conservation.

You should contact the Minister of Conservation if you disagree with the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement, a regional coastal plan, or a decision made about a restricted coastal activity.

Members of Parliament

MPs often know how government departments operate and can advise you. They might sometimes agree to act on your behalf in dealing with a government department or local body. Most bills that MPs introduce into Parliament are to implement government policy. But sometimes MPs will respond to requests from their constituents to introduce a private bill and sponsor it through the House. To find out more about Members of Parliament, visit: Members of Parliament website.

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