\section{Conclusion} % TODO - there is little opportunity for the public to influence the decision on resource consent applications, because only a fraction of them is notified. - overall, plans are of rather poor quality, making it difficult for planners to evaluate a proposal and its accompanying assessment in the intended spirit of the policies. - councils are subject to capacity bottlenecks which gives rise to an implementation gap, i.e. the use of less sophisticated procedures and methods than declared in the plans. % - Consultation is not mandatory under the RMA, but is encouraged % - results from consultation / mediation process are not binding % - there is a history of underestimating the size of the group of `directly affected' people % % - government wants to shift power from the local councils to % national entity, at the expense of community consultation