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MINISTRY LEADS EFFORTS TO ENFORCE ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

Ministry’s Role in Environmental Law Enforcement

Wellington, New Zealand - The Ministry for the Environment plays a crucial role in ensuring that environmental laws are effectively administered and enforced in New Zealand. As per Section 32 of the State Sector Act 1988, the Ministry is responsible for providing regulatory stewardship over legislation, including the Resource Management Act (RMA). This involves advising the Minister for the Environment on the application and operation of the RMA.

Monitoring and Investigation Activities

The RMA requires the Minister for the Environment to carry out a range of monitoring and investigation activities, including monitoring compliance with environmental standards and investigating alleged breaches. The Ministry works closely with regional councils and other agencies to ensure that these responsibilities are carried out effectively.

Challenges Faced by Regional Councils

Regional, district, and unitary councils also play a key role in enforcing environmental laws. However, they often face unique challenges in carrying out their compliance, monitoring, and enforcement (CME) functions under the RMA. Some of these challenges include:

  • Smaller councils struggling to effectively carry out CME responsibilities with limited resources
  • The need for councils to regulate their own activities under the RMA, as they are landowners and resource users in their own right

Strategies for Internal Compliance

To maintain credibility and integrity, many councils have devised strategies to ensure internal compliance with environmental laws. These strategies include:

  • Developing a clear separation between enforcement and political arms of council
  • Ensuring adequate separation between compliance functions and sections responsible for carrying out activities under relevant consents
  • Contracting out the CME role to another agency or company

Best Practices for Compliance

The Ministry has released guidelines on best practices for councils to achieve high rates of compliance with environmental laws. These guidelines emphasize the importance of a strategic approach to compliance, including:

  • Setting high-level objectives
  • Principles to guide all CME activities
  • An approach that targets a range of behaviors from the regulated community

Other key components of a compliance strategy include:

  • Ensuring clear communication between parties
  • Adequate expertise to comply with consent conditions
  • Recording communications in the same way as if the council were a member of the public

Conclusion

By adopting these best practices, councils can ensure that they are effectively carrying out their CME functions under the RMA, while also maintaining credibility and integrity.