Background to the development of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2011
The National Policy Statement (NPS) for Freshwater Management 2011 will be gazetted on 12 May 2011 and take effect from 1 July 2011. It is part of the Fresh Start for Fresh Water package of reforms announced by the Government in May 2011. This page provides background on how it was developed.
The proposed NPS
On 20 September 2008 the Board of Inquiry publicly notified the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and called for submissions. Submissions closed on the 23 January 2009. Information about the Board of Inquiry, the submission and hearings process is available on the Board of Inquiry for the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management web pages.
On 28 January 2010 the Board of Inquiry reported back to the Minister for the Environment. The Minister has forwarded the report to the Iwi Leaders Group, Land and Water Forum and officials in order to provide useful content for debate and discussion in their work on the New Start for Fresh Water reforms.
A copy of the report can be found through the link below:
- Report and recommendations of the Board of Inquiry for the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.
- Accompanying letter sent to the Land and Water Forum (PDF, 62 KB)
Key documents and links for proposed NPS (archived)
- The proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management
- Regulatory Impact Statement for the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management
- Section 32 analysis for the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management
- Finding the balance: Managing fresh water in New Zealand
- Terms of Reference for the Board of Inquiry
- Questions and Answers
- For a full list of publications relating to water refer to the water publications page.
The final NPS
The Minister for the Environment considered the Board of Inquiry’s report and recommendations. A summary of the Board of Inquiry’s recommendations and the Minister for the Environment’s decision which gives reasons for changes the Minister made to the Board of Inquiry’s version of the NPS is available.
The final National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2011 was approved by Cabinet and the Governor-General on 9 May 2011. It was issued by notice in the New Zealand Gazette on 12 May 2011 and takes effect from 1 July 2011. A section 32 evaluation of costs and benefits and regulatory impact statement were also prepared for the National Policy Statement.
Further information
- See the fresh water page for related reports, policies, regulations, projects, partnerships, guidelines and tools about fresh water.
- See the national policy statements page for general information, including information on other national policy statements under development.
- See the Resource Management Act page which is a gateway to information about the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
- For a full list of publications relating to water refer to the water publications page.
Last updated: 7 June 2011
