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National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management

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On 20 September 2008 the Board of Inquiry publicly notified the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and called for submissions. Information about the Board of Inquiry and how to make a submission is available on the Board of Inquiry for the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management web pages.

About the proposed National Policy Statement

The purpose of the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management is to help guide decision-making on freshwater management under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) at national, regional and district levels.

This reflects that management of fresh water is a matter of national significance, and is relevant to achieving the purpose of the RMA.

The proposed national policy statement outlines objectives and policies for the management of fresh water, helping to inform immediate decisions as well as longer-term thinking and planning.

In this way it will assist in achieving the key outcomes of the water programme: improved water quality, more efficient use of water, and management of the increasing demands for water.

The proposed national policy statement is intended to enhance management of New Zealand’s freshwater resources so that, by 2035, these meet the needs and aspirations of all New Zealanders.

The proposed statement will not be a piece of legislation, and will not in itself fix all New Zealand’s water issues. Councils will still be responsible for setting local rules and standards for managing fresh water.

The proposed statement will require councils to give effect to the national significance of fresh water in their regional policy statements and regional and district plans. Councils must also have regard to it in day-to-day resource management activities relating to fresh water, including the consideration of resource consent applications, designations, or plan changes.

It will require local government to make amendments to ensure that existing regional policy statements and regional and district plans give effect to its objectives and policies within specified time frames.

For more information

See the national policy statements webpage for general information, including information on other national policy statements under development.

Māori and the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management

Water is central to Māori cultural and personal identity and wellbeing. Rivers and lakes carry ancestral connections and wairua (spirit) for whānau, hapū and iwi.

The Treaty of Waitangi (te Tiriti ō Waitangi) is the foundation of the Crown-Māori relationship with regard to freshwater resources. It is intended that the national policy statement be one step in the process of addressing iwi and hapū values and interests in fresh water.