\section{Introduction}

According to the International Association for Impact Assessment,
public participation and transparency are two of the basic principles
applying to all stages in the impact assessment
process \parencite{principles}. As the ultimate purpose of
environmental impact assessment (EIA) is to inform decision-making in
a way that promotes `sustainable development'\footnote{The actual
meaning of the fuzzy term \emph{sustainable development} is the
subject of continuing debate. In this essay it is used to describe
economic development that neither compromises ecosystem services nor
discounts shared community values. For a discussion of the term
\emph{sustainable development} see
\url{http://elephly.net/downies/3-1-sustainable-development--a-revolution-or-business-as-usual.pdf}.},
it must ensure that the public has access to all information relating
to a proposal and ought to allow the public to participate in the
decision-making process.

In New Zealand, EIA is performed through the Resource Management Act
1991 (RMA), a comprehensive environmental management framework
governing the allocation and utilisation of natural resources and
controling adverse effects on the social, natural and constructed
environment.  According to \textcite{sadler}, environmental assessment
under the RMA ``operates within the statutory planning and consent
system rather than as a separate procedure [and] applies explicitly to
projects'' \parencite[p 31]{sadler}. The consent system requires
project planners to submit an environmental impact statement (in New
Zealand this is called an Assessment of Environmental Effects or AEE)
in order to be able to obtain the resource consents needed for the
implementation of the project. As the AEE is prepared by the project
proponents (or assessors hired by them), the review of the scope,
accuracy and level of detail of a given AEE is of great importance to
ensure that decision-makers in the council have sufficient information
to make decisions that are sound from a socio-economic and
environmental point of view.

In an editorial of the Resource Management Bulletin entitled
``Improving environmental assessment under the RMA'', David Grinlinton
makes the following statement regarding the review of poor-quality
environmental assessments or potentially harmful proposals:

\begin{quote}
  Councils often do not have the inclination to challenge an AEE,
  particularly if the development may bring benefits to the region. It
  therefore often falls to individuals or public interest groups to
  grasp the thorn and challenge
  them. \parencite[][pp. 110-111]{grinlinton}
\end{quote}

To discuss and evaluate this claim, we shall take a closer look at the
resource consent process, focusing on the influence of consultation
and public participation on decision-making.