Auckland flood resilience works

Auckland Council requested this Order in Council which applies in the catchments of Te Ararata and Harania Creeks in Māngere, South Auckland.

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Why the Order in Council is needed
What the Order in Council does
Where the Order in Council applies and when
Meeting the purpose of the SWERLA
Documents incorporated into this Order
Get more information

Effective

25 October 2024

Expires

31 March 2028

Why the Order in Council is needed

The Auckland Anniversary weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle in January and February 2023 had a devastating and long-lasting impact on Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Extreme rainfall, river flooding, wind damage and landslides brought hardship, suffering and challenges for many communities and thousands of individuals.

The Te Ararata and Harania catchments of Māngere were among the worst-hit areas. 376 properties in these areas are at risk of flooding again if another extreme rainfall event occurs. Auckland Council plans to undertake flood protection works at Te Ararata and Harania to reduce the flood risk to life and property and to increase the resilience of infrastructure for the wider community. 

The construction of these types of works usually requires complex resource consents. Normally, the process for granting these consents would take a year or longer. This Order in Council will shorten this process and enable the Council to start works in the next earthworks season, which is summer 2024/25.

What the Order in Council does

The Order in Council:

  • reclassifies the project works as controlled activities under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), overriding certain rules in the Auckland Unitary Plan. A controlled activity resource consent also cannot be declined under the RMA, which gives Auckland Council certainty that the works will get consented.
  • prevents people or groups lodging appeals against the consent decision in the Environment Court. Appeals can take years to work through and would slow project works down significantly.
  • allows Auckland Council to start the works as soon as the controlled activity consents are granted. This certainty allows the Council to start planning the works now.
  • has a set of conditions and matters of control that act as safeguards to ensure that adverse environmental effects are avoided, remedied or mitigated. This includes things like sediment and erosion control plans and noise standards to make sure that the works aren't adversely affecting the environment and people.
  • requires that an independent commissioner be the final decision maker to manage any perceived or actual conflicts of interest. This person will hear from local landowners, communities, iwi and others before making their decision and imposing conditions.

Where the Order in Council applies and when

The proposed Order in Council only applies to the catchments of Te Ararata and Harania Creeks in Māngere, South Auckland.

Only Auckland Council can use the Order in Council to apply for consents. Any other landowner or developer undertaking works in these catchments will need to use the normal Auckland Unitary Plan consenting process.

The Order in Council is effective from 25 October 2024 and it expires on 31 March 2028. This should be enough time for the Council to complete the project works. However, the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) will review the Order in 12 months to ensure that this length of time is still appropriate.

Meeting the purpose of the SWERLA

We consider that the Order in Council meets the purpose of the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act (SWERLA) because it will help communities and the council to focus on planning, rebuilding, and recovery, including:

  • improving the resilience of land or infrastructure, or both, to flooding

  • making safety enhancements to land or infrastructure, or both, to avoid or mitigate risks posed by flooding.

Documents incorporated into this Order

'Incorporation by reference' is a legal way of making technical, lengthy, or complex information part of our law by reference rather than in full, when it is impractical to include it directly. The Legislation Act 2019 (section 64) and the Standards and Accreditation Act 2015 (section 30) allow for material to be incorporated into secondary legislation by reference and set out requirements that need to be met. These include publicly notifying the intention to incorporate material by reference and inviting comments.

MfE proposes to incorporate various parts of technical documents into the proposed Auckland Council flood works Order in Council. This is to ensure that appropriate environmental standards are met.

The Order requires the consent holder (Auckland Council) to comply with parts of relevant resource management plans, technical guidelines, standards and management plans. It is expected that the consent holder will consider the full contents of the documents to understand their obligations.

The parts of the documents incorporated by reference into the Order are as follows:

New Zealand Standard Acoustics—Construction noise (NZS 6803:1999) published by Standards New Zealand in February 2000 to support the flood resilience works meeting the required construction noise requirements and managing the impacts. A copy of the standard can be viewed in person at 8 Willis Street, Wellington. A digital copy of the standard can be purchased online at: NZS 6803:1999: Standards New Zealand 

Get more information

MfE and Auckland Council held a public webinar in August 2024 and invited feedback on the proposed Order in Council. 

View the presentation [PDF, 4.4 MB]

We provided the feedback we received to the: 

  • Minister for the Environment  
  • Regulations Review Committee 
  • Review panel that considered this Order in Council under the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act 2023. 

Please contact info@mfe.govt.nz if you have any questions about the Order in Council.