The legend of the RMA: A trilogy

In this presentation the author paints the conflict of people versus nature in light of the RMA, and go on to look at the repercussions of this through not only the plans that were prepared under this controversial legislation, but also their implementation and resulting environmental outcomes. The author highlights some strategies for lifting the expectations of environmental outcomes achieved under the RMA through improving the quality of planning and governance under this legislation

Planning paradise with the Cheshire Cat: Governance problems under the RMA

Much has been made of compliance costs to business and the need to process consents hastily in relation to the Resource Management Act in New Zealand. This obsession with compliance misses the fundamental problem of implementing the RMA — shortcomings in governance. This address will shed some light on this pervasive problem, first by characterizing RMA within the theoretical range of national mandates, then dealing in turn with governance issues at each level in the intergovernmental hierarchy of partnerships established by RMA and LGA. It concludes with brief mention of long term council community planning, because it too is at risk if governance is not improved

Measurement of tide induced changes to water table profiles in coarse and fine sand beaches along Pegasus Bay, Canterbury

Measurements of changing water table profiles in beaches along Pegasus Bay, Canterbury, show an interchange of water between the sea and beach sand pores throughout a single semi-diurnal tidal cycle. The velocity of water escaping from the water table in response to an ebbing tide does not appear sufficient to elutriate material of silt size or larger from the beach. The low computed velocity is thought to be due to hydrostatic control, by sand dunes at the back of the beach, on water table amplitude. Fresh water and wave wash are considered important supplementary sources to that of tidal water in influencing water table profiles

Planning and governance under the LGA: Lessons from the RMA experience.

The purpose of this report is to identify ways in which experiences gained from the RMA as a devolved and co-operative planning mandate can enable local and central government and other stakeholders to more effectively implement the LGA. The report is based on findings from the FRST-funded research programme on Planning under Co-operative Mandates (PUCM). We argue in this report that the experiences gained from the RMA can inform effective implementation of the LGA in three important respects: Preparation and implementation of LTCCPs; The community consultation process for formulating community outcomes; and Māori participation in planning and governance

Resource management, plan quality and governance: A report to Government

This Report contains the main findings from FRST-funded research into planning under the Resource Management Act. It includes five sets of interrelated recommendations. These recommendations identify many actions that are essential if Government is serious about achieving its goal of environmental sustainability. Implementation of the recommendations will require a significant increase in expenditure at all levels of the planning hierarchy, but especially central government

Iwi interests and the RMA: An evaluation of the quality of first generation council plans

This working paper analyses the processes adopted by councils for involving hapū /iwi in plan implementation, including the resource consents process. Three topic issues were investigated to assess plan implementation — urban amenity, storm water, and issues of importance to iwi. Questions were asked about the capacity of hapū/iwi to engage in the resource consent process, which resource issues were of concern to them, their relationship with council and consent applicants, and their perception of the consent process. Most resources listed in the questionnaire were of concern to hapū/iwi, with water quality, wāhi tapu and heritage the most commonly cited. In conclusion, we found a general dissatisfaction on the part of hapū/iwi with councils’ performance with respect to both Treaty relationships and consent processing under the RMA. A further contributing factor to the poor relationships found between hapū/iwi and councils, was the lack of clarity over the role of hapū and iwi in resource management. In several districts, diverging responses from hapū/iwi and councils to questions about level of understanding and commitment suggests there is a need for more effective communication. These problems are compounded by the generally low capacity of hapū/iwi to participate in resource consent processes. These findings suggest that there is much to be done to improve relationships and behaviour of these key stakeholder groups in the plan implementation process if key provisions in the RMA related to hapū/iwi interests are to be fulfilled. The differences shown in reciprocal perceptions have serious implications for establishing a sound working partnership between councils and hapū/iwi in their areas. Making clear these discrepancies is a first step towards taking the measures needed for building a better partnership. Further, the capacity of hapū/iwi to participate could be better utilised if there was greater integration between regional and district councils on issues of significance and processes for iwi involvement

The quality of district plans and their implementation: Towards environmental quality

Since inception of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) the issue of sustainable management has dominated planning practice in New Zealand. Over the past decade, councils have wrestled with converting the concept of sustainable management into policy and practice. Implicit to the requirement that district councils develop plans for managing the environmental effects of the use and development of natural and physical resources is the assumption that good quality plans will result in improved environmental quality. The key question to be addressed in this paper is: Do good plans matter? Measuring the quality of plan implementation is a complex task, and little, if any, attempt has been made in councils to do it. The PUCM research is the first in New Zealand to attempt a quantitative analysis of the links between the quality of plans produced under the RMA and the quality of plan implementation. The purpose of this paper is to describe the methodology that we adopted for the research and to present some preliminary results from studying the implementation of plans through the resource consent process. Overall, we are trying to determine: how best to measure the quality of plan implementation and the effect that district plan quality has on implementation quality; and what factors influence the relationship between plan quality and implementation quality. This paper is structured into three main parts. The first is a description of the methodological approach taken to conduct the research. In the second part, the key preliminary results are presented. Finally the findings and the implications for achieving good environmental outcomes are discussed

Evaluation of iwi and hapū participation in the resource consents processes of six district councils

This working paper analyses the processes adopted by councils for involving hapū/iwi in plan implementation, including the resource consents process. Three topic issues were investigated to assess plan implementation — urban amenity, storm water, and issues of importance to iwi. Questions were asked about the capacity of hapū/iwi to engage in the resource consent process, which resource issues were of concern to them, their relationship with council and consent applicants, and their perception of the consent process. Most resources listed in the questionnaire were of concern to hapū/iwi, with water quality, wāhi tapu and heritage the most commonly cited. In conclusion, we found a general dissatisfaction on the part of hapū/iwi with councils’ performance with respect to both Treaty relationships and consent processing under the RMA. A further contributing factor to the poor relationships found between hapū/iwi and councils, was the lack of clarity over the role of hapū and iwi in resource management. In several districts, diverging responses from hapū/iwi and councils to questions about level of understanding and commitment suggests there is a need for more effective communication. These problems are compounded by the generally low capacity of hapū/iwi to participate in resource consent processes. These findings suggest that there is much to be done to improve relationships and behaviour of these key stakeholder groups in the plan implementation process if key provisions in the RMA related to hapū/iwi interests are to be fulfilled. The differences shown in reciprocal perceptions have serious implications for establishing a sound working partnership between councils and hapū/iwi in their areas. Making clear these discrepancies is a first step towards taking the measures needed for building a better partnership. Further, the capacity of hapū/iwi to participate could be better utilised if there was greater integration between regional and district councils on issues of significance and processes for iwi involvement

District plan implementation under the RMA: Confessions of a resource consent

This report focuses on results from Phase 2 of PUCM - the quality of plan implementation in six district councils selected for their range of plan quality and capacity to plan. Only those results considered to be important for assisting the six councils (and others) to improve implementation of their plans are included in this report. The findings and recommendations, both specific and general, ought to be instructive for other councils, thereby helping to improve their plans and implementation processes. Since hapu/iwi interests formed a key component of the research, the outcomes will help enhance their case for better consideration of their interests when dealing with local government. As well, many of the findings and recommendations relate to matters of governance and capacity building that require Government action, which until done will make it difficult for councils to achieve quality plans and implementation processes

Evaluating the pediatric mental health care continuum at an American health system

OBJECTIVE: To describe trends in the pediatric mental health care continuum and identify potential gaps in care coordination. METHODS: We used electronic medical record data from October 2016 to September 2019 to characterize the prevalence of mental health issues in the pediatric population at a large American health system. This was a single institution case study. From the electronic medical record data, primary mental health discharge and readmission diagnoses were identified using RESULTS: Major depressive disorder and other mood disorders comprised 49.6% and 89.4% of diagnoses in the emergency department and inpatient settings respectively compared to 9.0% of ambulatory care diagnoses and were among top reasons for readmission. Additionally, only 1% of all ambulatory care encounters had a care navigation component, whereas 86% of care navigation encounters were for mental health-associated reasons. CONCLUSIONS: Major depressive disorder and other mood disorders were more common diagnoses in the emergency department and inpatient settings, which could signal gaps in care coordination. Bridging potential gaps in care coordination could reduce emergency department and inpatient utilization through increasing ambulatory care navigation resources, improving training, and restructuring financial incentives to facilitate ambulatory care diagnosis and management of major depressive disorder and mood disorders. Furthermore, health systems can use our descriptive analytic approach to serve as a reasonable measure of the current state of pediatric mental health care in their own patient population