Resource Management / Environmental Law

A complex web of legislation faces anyone doing business in the marine environment of New Zealand.

The Resource Management Act, Conservation Act, Marine Reserves Act, and a raft of others, all impact on where and how activities can be carried out, and, in turn, lead to a plethora of plans, policy statements and strategies, issued by local authorities and central government. Central government proposals to develop an Oceans Policy and to increasingly focus on the environmental effects of fishing and other marine activities tend to increase, rather than decrease, uncertainty in these areas.

By the same token, land-based activities, such as farming, are increasingly recognised as having a detrimental effect on coastal environments, through run-off and pollution, and there is spiralling demand for residential developments on coastal land. Factors such as these create additional barriers and challenges to other users of the coastal marine area, such as fishing and aquaculture.

Oceanlaw New Zealand has the experience and expertise to provide advice across a wide range of marine and land-based environmental law issues, both in terms of compliance, lobbying, and advocacy.

In Particular Oceanlaw New Zealand’s can advise on

• Input and submissions to Regional and District Council plans under the Resource Management Act
• Regional Council proposals to impose Coastal Occupation Charges
• Applications for resource consents, particularly for activities in the coastal marine area
• Objections, appeals and reviews of Council decisions
• Department of Conservation concessions

For more information please contact Justine Inns