The Government’s priorities and expectations outlined in the Budget Policy Statement (December 2013) and the Prime Minister’s Statement to Parliament (January 2014) set the context for the ministerial priorities outlined in the foreword. The Ministry’s main contributions to the Government’s priorities are set out in the table below.
Government priorities 2014–2018
| Government priority | Ministry contribution to Government priorities |
| Building a more productive and competitive economy | The Government believes that balanced and sensible management of our resources will protect the environment while promoting stronger economic growth. The majority of the Ministry’s work falls under this priority. For example, the Natural Resources Sector (the NRS) is collaborating to lead one of the six work streams (Natural Resources) under the Business Growth Agenda. It includes, for example, progressing the Resource Management Reform Bill, as well as developing a more comprehensive package of reforms to the resource management system. The Government will also introduce a package of reforms to improve our water quality and the way fresh water is managed. |
| Delivering better public services within tight financial constraints | The Ministry has taken numerous steps in recent years to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. We will be strengthening our long-term vision and strategic direction through the analytical framework for natural resources management over the coming year, which will also be central to improving planning and prioritisation.
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| Rebuilding Christchurch, our second-biggest city | The Ministry has a role to play in the Christchurch rebuild by streamlining a number of regulatory processes (eg, through Orders in Council) and monitoring them. For example, waiving the Waste Disposal Levy on earthquake waste disposed to Kate Valley Landfill (almost $800,000) and supporting specific Christchurch based waste minimisation projects through the Waste Minimisation Fund (over $4 million awarded to date).
|
Natural Resources Sector priorities
Over the next four years, the strong foundations of the Natural Resource Sector (NRS) will be used to provide a step change in the coherence and strategic focus of whole-of-government advice on natural resource policy. The NRS will continue to use its collaborative ethos to focus on forming a common understanding of strategic issues and increasingly approach policy challenges through a shared analytical framework. Ultimately its aim is to provide high-quality multi-disciplinary policy advice based on broad and durable perspectives on some very complex and difficult issues. This will require the Ministry and our NRS partners to build and maintain world class strategic and analytical capability. The combination of the Ministry’s dedicated support for the NRS and our more general policy capacity are being aligned to ensure we can provide effective strategic leadership to the NRS.
The policy priorities for the NRS in 2014 are the Business Growth Agenda Natural Resource Key Areas, Water Reform, Resource Management Reform and Marine. All of these priorities have established work programmes involving staff from across the NRS agencies.
As well as collaborating on key policy areas, the NRS is working together to create the right environment to support its efforts. The NRS can draw on economies of scale from shared services, as well as on the collective skills available (and the wider variety of expertise across the NRS agencies). Its focus will be on:
- continuing to develop better leadership, management, and multi-disciplinary strategic policy capability
- taking a more strategic and collaborative approach to information management and financial management
- ensuring the NRS has the capability and capacity to deliver on its strategic thinking and system stewardship roles, to develop strategic policy responses to medium- and long-term issues
- improving the coherence and alignment of science investment and NRS goals
- reporting on the state of the environment as part of the newly implemented national framework for environment reporting
- refreshing the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy
- actively supporting the implementation of the resource management and freshwater reforms.
The goals of the Natural Resources Sector are set out in the table below. Progress towards these goals will be reported to the Chief Executives of the NRS agencies.
| Natural Resources Sector goals | Shared indicators |
| To ensure an integrated, aligned and strategic approach across government to natural resources management by: | |
| ... delivering high-quality policy advice on critical, cross-agency policy issues | Ministers report that joined-up advice with no surprises is delivered and they are satisfied with the advice on NRS priority initiatives (including co-production, collective problem definition).
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| ... developing the capability of our people | Three cohorts of Aspiring Leaders are delivered in 2014.
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| ... building the sector’s systems | Best practice policy frameworks, including the Natural Resources Framework, are applied in policy development.
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Outcomes framework
In carrying out our mission of ‘environmental stewardship for a prosperous New Zealand’, it is important for the Ministry to take a long-term view, so the capacity of the environment to generate benefits is maintained. The New Zealand economy relies heavily on natural resources. For New Zealanders to be prosperous, resources must be allocated efficiently to generate the most benefit while avoiding damage to the natural environment or public health.
Our focus is on both major environmental issues that need attention and on the overall framework for environmental and natural resource management. We have identified three strategic priorities for our work.
- Reviewing institutions and frameworks – because New Zealand needs tools and institutions that can deliver high levels of economic, social and cultural well-being, while ensuring natural resources can support future generations into the future. To drive better performance, we are taking a stronger leadership role in the design and implementation of the institutions and frameworks, with ongoing monitoring and reporting of performance.
- Land use and health of water resources – because of the environmental, economic, recreational and cultural significance of water, which is coming under increasing pressure from a variety of sources.
- Climate change mitigation and risk management – because of the importance of contributing to international action to minimise the impacts of climate change and dealing with risks to New Zealand’s economy and lifestyle, as well as maximise opportunities to increase productivity.
Our outcomes framework was developed for the Statement of Intent 2011-2014. The outcomes framework identifies:
- the longer-term outcomes we are seeking to achieve in relation to our priorities
- the impacts (or results) we want to achieve through our work programme to make progress on these outcomes
- the main work programmes that are intended to achieve the impacts (or results).
Our outcomes framework is shown in figure 2.
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Our mission
Environmental stewardship for a prosperous New Zealand
Long-term outcomes
- New Zealand becomes a successful low-carbon society that is resilient to climate change impacts on its climate, economy and lifestyle
- New Zealand's fresh water is well governed and sustainably managed to realise the maximum benefit possible for present and future environmental, cultural, social and economic values
- New Zealand's environmental management systems are strengthened and supported so that they can achieve the greatest overall environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits
Impact the Ministry is seeking to achieve
- Decrease New Zealand's net emissions of greenhouse gases below business as usual levels in a cost-effective way
- Improve quality, flow and availability of fresh water through more effective management frameworks
- Improve the resource management framework to manage environmental effects and allocate resources within environmental limits
- Improve the relationship between the Ministry and Māori by negotiating and implementing fair, durable and fit for purpose deeds of settlement and environmental accords
- Reduce harm from natural, chemical and biological hazards and from waste through more effective management frameworks
- Achieve better solutions to environmental problems by supporting community involvement and action and international cooperation
Departmental outputs
Climate change
- Domestic climate change programme policy advice
- International climate change programme policy advice
- Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Levy
- Carbon Monitoring Programme
Improving resource management
- Water management policy advice
- Water management implementation
- Marine environment policy advice
- Resource management policy advice
- Resource management implementation
- Developing and implementing Treaty settlements and environmental accords policy advice
Mitigating environmental hazards and waste
- Environmental hazards and waste policy advice
- Waste management and minimisation
- Waste minimisation administration
Environmental management obligations and programmes
- Domestic obligations and programmes
- International obligations and institutions policy advice
Across all departmental outputs
- Ministerial services
Strategic approaches
- Define, design and deliver tools and institutions which increase economic incentives to change behaviour
- Produce, use and publish credible evidence and feed evaluation information into what we do
- Work more closely with Māori to develop deeper relationships and understandings, using new policies and processes
- Foster enduring relationships with stakeholders who lead and are trusted by their constituents
Behaviours
- Analyse
- Engage
- Learn
- Validate
- Collaborate
Long-term outcomes
The strategic priorities are reflected in the Ministry’s three outcomes, which focus on what is needed in the long term to ensure a healthy environment. The table below provides further information about each outcome.
| Outcome | Why the outcome is important |
| New Zealand becomes a successful low-carbon society that is resilient to climate change impacts on its climate, economy and lifestyle. | Climate change is the most challenging international issue of the 21st century. New Zealand must both adapt to changes in climate and contribute to coordinated international action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
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| New Zealand’s fresh water is well governed and sustainably managed to realise the maximum benefit possible for present and future environmental, cultural, social and economic values. | Freshwater management (both allocation and maintaining quality) is vital to agriculture, tourism, electricity generation, public health, recreation and New Zealand’s quality of life. Innovative solutions will be needed to deal with the pressures on this natural resource.
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| New Zealand’s environmental management systems are strengthened and supported so that they can achieve the greatest overall environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits. | New Zealand’s environmental management systems must maintain the environment’s capacity to generate benefits for succeeding generations.
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The outcomes will be achieved not just through our work but through the combined efforts of central and local government and the wider community, including the Environmental Protection Authority, which will make an important contribution to these outcomes.
Impacts
Our impacts reflect the Ministry’s major and long-standing areas of activity and the legislation for which we are responsible.
Achieving positive environmental change (such as better air or water quality) takes time and requires effective management frameworks that are coherent and comprehensive, and can be managed efficiently. As owners of the environmental management system, we are committed to ensuring that the management frameworks that drive decision-making are fit-for-purpose.
The table below provides information about our current impacts and what we intend to achieve.
| Impact | What's intended to be achieved |
| Decrease New Zealand’s net emissions of greenhouse gases below business as usual levels in a cost-effective way. | Decreasing greenhouse gas emissions is essential if New Zealand is to become a low-carbon society and will enable New Zealand to meet its international obligations.
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| Improve quality, flow and availability of fresh water through more effective management frameworks. | More effective freshwater management frameworks encourage upfront collaborative decision-making. Decisions are made more quickly, are more transparent and better targeted, and are supported by robust and accurate information about their impact on the environment and economy. The framework creates more certainty for investors and encourages economic growth within environmental limits. |
| Improve the resource management framework to manage environmental effects and allocate resources within environmental limits. | New Zealand’s planning framework meets the many and varied needs of communities, while managing the potential effects on the environment.
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| Improve the relationship between the Ministry and Māori by negotiating and implementing fair, durable and fit-for-purpose deeds of settlement and environmental accords. | Māori have a strong interest in the use and management of natural resources. Virtually all Treaty of Waitangi settlements now have some natural resource component. This requires the Ministry to be involved in negotiating Treaty settlements and environmental accords and to implement obligations under these agreements.
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| Reduce harm from chemical and biological hazards and from waste through more effective management frameworks. | The hazardous substance management regime helps New Zealand businesses be safe, sustainable and successful. Businesses are better able to understand how to keep safe in the workplace when handling chemical and biological hazards, and are incentivised to comply with safety requirements. The management framework deals with risk without creating barriers to innovation.
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| Achieve better solutions to environmental problems by supporting community involvement and action and international cooperation. | Central government support of environmental projects led by others leverages significant contributions of funding or community hours of work that achieves more than either party could do alone.
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We began our first full year of improved medium-term planning during 2012/13. It has moved from bottom-up annual planning to top-down planning based on its impacts. We use our six impacts to determine the best outputs that will lead to successfully influencing those impacts. This process is phased throughout the year from strategic planning through to more detailed planning. Ultimately, it (supported by a strengthened vision, strategy and analytical framework, and improved management information through time-recording) will put us in a better position to prioritise work to best achieve its impacts and manage its resources. We are conscious of the need to provide efficient and effective services that represent good value for money for all New Zealanders.
Input from our strategic policy programme and evidence base will also underpin decision-making about the direction of our work programme to achieve these impacts. Monitoring and evaluation of core policies and programmes is a central feature of our approach to policy development, implementation and delivery and helps ensure we have a good understanding of the results of our activities.
How we will measure progress with the impacts is outlined in figure 3.
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Outcome
New Zealand becomes a successful low-carbon society that is resilient to climate change impacts on its climate, economy and lifestyle.
Impact 1
Decrease New Zealand's net emissions of greenhouse gases below business as usual levels in a cost effective way
Impact measures
- Trends in greenhouse gas emissions and removals in the annual greenhouse gas inventory.
- Trends in greenhouse gas intensity of the economy by emissions per unit of GDP and emissions per capita.
- Divergence between forecast net position and Kyoto Protocol obligations.
Target
- Downward trend in net emissions
- Downward trends
- Decreasing liability / increasing asset
Outcome
New Zealand's fresh water is well governed and sustainably managed to realise the maximum benefit possible for present and future environmental, cultural, social and economic values.
Impact 2
Improve quality, flow and availability of fresh water through more effective management frameworks
Impact measures
- Proportion of water used for consumptive purposes that is subject to measurement and reporting.
- Number of large surface water catchments that have quantified flow regimes in place that set limits.
- Number of significant catchments that have quantified policy for land and water management that sets surface water quality limits.
- Number of monitored sites showing maintained or improved water quality.
Target
- Increasing proportion
- Increasing number
- Increasing number
- Increasing proportion of monitored sites improving
Outcome
New Zealand's environmental management systems are strengthened and supported so that they can achieve the greatest overall environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits.
Impact 3
Improve the resource management framework to manage environmental effects and allocate resources within environmental limits
Impact measures
- Improvement in customer satisfaction with resource management decisions.
- Improvement in the quality of analysis and community involvement in plan-making, including s32 analysis and Māori engagement.
- Number of appeals to the Environment Court and objections to decisions by local authorities.
- Trends in Environmental Protection Authority and local government compliance with statutory resource consent processing timeframes (which are relative to the size and significance of the proposal).
Target
- Upward trend
- Upward trend
- Downward trend
- Upward trend (councils) / 100% (EPA)
Impact 4
Improve the relationship between the Ministry and Māori by negotiating and implementing fair, durable and fit for purpose deeds of settlement and environmental accordsImpact measures
- Percentage of Māori partners in deeds of settlement and environmental accords satisfied or very satisfied with Ministry implementation of obligations.
- Percentage of relevant Ministry obligations under deeds of settlement and environmental accords met.
Target
- 80% satisfied or very satisfied
- 100% compliance
Impact 5
Reduce harm from natural, chemical and biological hazards and from waste through more effective management frameworks
Impact measures
- Changes in the incident data compiled by the Environmental Protection Authority and enforcement agencies under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act.
- Trends in the tonnage of waste disposed of at waste disposal facilities per unit of GDP.
Target
- Reduced number of incidents
- Downward trend
Impact 6
Achieve better solutions to environmental problems by supporting community involvement and action and international cooperation
Impact measures
- Progress in investigation, remedial planning or remediation of priority contaminated sites in conjunction with regional councils and/or landowners – increasing percentage managed or remediated. (Also contributes to impact above)
- Level of community involvement in projects funded by the Community Environment Fund.
- Percentage of Community Environment Fund and Waste Minimisation Fund projects that report full achievement against objectives.
Target
- Increasing proportion of priority contaminated sites remediated and/or managed
- Increasing community involvement
- 100% of objectives met by 80% of projects
Trends in progress against these impact measures will be reported each year in our Annual Report.
Output classes
The Ministry’s work programme is funded through Vote Environment. The departmental outputs shown in figure 2 reflect the key elements of our work programme that will help achieve the impacts and contribute to the outcomes.
The products and services we provide through outputs are grouped into seven result areas: fresh water, resource management, marine environment, environmental hazards and waste, climate change, Treaty commitments, and working with others. The main focus of our work over the next four years is outlined in the ‘Work programme’ section.
The outputs are agreed with the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Climate Change Issues each financial year, and are recorded in an Output Plan. We report quarterly to the Ministers on work programme progress and annually in its annual report to Parliament.
Appendix 2 shows how non-departmental output classes contribute to the outcomes and impacts.
Strategic objectives
May 2014
© Ministry for the Environment