\section{The resource consent process in a nutshell}

In New Zealand development activities are regulated through regional
and district plans.  These plans are prepared by the regional and
district councils in a long process that provides ample opportunity
for consultation with the public and industry representatives
alike \parencite{miller2010implementing}.  For any activity not
explicitly permitted by the plans and policy statements a resource
consent must be obtained.  Any activity that claims to have
significant positive impacts on the region---the type of activity
that this analysis focuses on---is very likely to also require
resource consents.

After checking the appropriate district or regional plans to confirm
whether a resource consent is required, the applicant is to prepare a
thorough assessment of environmental effects (AEE). Although it might
be benefitial to consult with possibly affected people and interested
members of the general public at this stage, consultation is not a
general requirement under the RMA.  After the application is lodged
and the AEE submitted, the council will process it.  If the AEE is
considered lacking, the council may ask the applicant to provide
further information; inadequate applications that are unlikely to be
improved significantly may also be rejected altogether.

% TODO: what percentage of applications is rejected at this stage?
% majority of rejected applications are made by private people.

An application that has passed the council's review ...



\section{Consultation and participation in EIA and the RMA}

- EIA in NZ differs from international best practice, because
  consultation before the application is lodged is not required

- consultation may be required by another Act; consultation with Maori
  (if affected) is usually required due to Treaty

- any results of consultation must be included in the AEE

%While councils usually engange the public during the consultation
%phases of the plan formation process, the picture on the resource
%consent level is a different one.  According to the 2010/11 survey of
%local authorities the New Zealand \textcite{rma-survey} carries out
%every two years, only about six per cent of all resource consents in
%the two-year period were notified in some way, with only four per cent
%being publicly notified (``poor provision of information''). Hence,
%although the public can influence the framework relative to which
%resource consents are evaluated, there is limited opportunity for the
%public to affect the outcome of the actual decision-making process;
%this situation may result in reduced willingness to participate in
%areas where public participation is still possible (``failure to
%influence the decision-making process'').


refer to http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/rma/everyday/consent-consultation/


\subsection{AEE review and notification}

- council reviews AEE and decides whether to notify or not

%beyond the requirements of the Fourth Schedule,
%however, there are few guidelines to assess the quality of an
%AEE \parencite{miller2010implementing}.


- this is the point that Grinlinton is talking about. If the councils
don't review dilligently enough, proposals with incomplete or
misleading data are not challenged and pass through to a decision (for
non-notified applications) or enters limited notification where
directly affected people find a compromise with the applicant
(applicant can buy approval) or enters public submission stage. A
misleading AEE will be difficult for the public to challenge on
technical grounds.

% http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Mediating+sustainability%3a+the+public+interest+mediator+in+the+New...-a0176372138
\begin{quote}
According to one survey, only five percent of consent applications
are notified, (51) which is an important finding because, in general,
only those parties who make a submission on a notified consent
application have standing to appeal a council's decision to the
Environment Court.
\end{quote}
% TODO: check if there were big non-notified proposals in the past

% TODO: review course readings to find problems

\subsection{The implementation gap}

\begin{quote}
% there was a gap between the environmental management techniques
% advocated in district plans and those being applied in resource
% consents. The lower the council capacity and plan quality, the greater
% the implementation gap. For a number of reasons, most plans are more
% ambitious in their scope and intentions than is realised in practice
% through techniques used in consents.
\end{quote} [confessions, p 13]

\subsection{Submissions from the public and hearings}

- in the case of public notification, council prepares a report based
on submissions, the AEE and additional evidence provided by the
applicant. The report is hence strongly influenced by the applicant's
input.

% TODO