Foreword

Every two years the Ministry for the Environment carries out an RMA survey with the assistance of local authorities. The survey is our principal source of information about RMA processes and helps us to monitor the implementation of the Act. It allows comparisons to be made between local authorities, promotes performance benchmarks, and stimulates discussion and the sharing of good practice. The survey also indicates areas where RMA implementation is falling short and where the Ministry could usefully direct further assistance to improve local authority performance.

This ninth survey report provides a solid benchmark against which we can measure changes in performance over time. This is timely, with significant changes to the RMA expected from the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill.

Although the RMA is a key part of environmental governance in New Zealand, the challenge that lies ahead is to monitor and report on wider environmental performance in a more holistic manner. I encourage local authorities and other readers to make use of this publication not only to consider how effectively the RMA is operating, but also to consider what additional information we need in order to better evaluate the quality of environmental management in this country.

Dr Paul Reynolds
Secretary for the Environment