Affected/Interested Persons

The Resource Management Act 1991 requires:

• That consultation with affected or interested parties is carried out;
• That written approval be obtained from those people that may be adversely affected by the granting of a resource consent .

 The Council, in some cases may require written approval from those people who may be adversely affected.

Interested Parties

Depending on the type of activity, the following could be either affected and/or interested parties.

• Community Boards
• Department of Conservation
• Department of Health
• Environmental and sector groups
• Historic Places Trust
• Iwi
• Maritime Safety Authority
• Ministry of Agriculture
• Ministry of Fisheries
• Ministry of Transport
• Regional Councils
• Transit New Zealand
  
  

Affected Persons

Depending on the nature of the application, consultation and written approval may be required from:

• Owners and occupiers of the land
• Owners and occupiers of adjacent and/or downstream land
• Local Tangata Whenua
• Downstream Resource Users
• Any Minister of the Crown with statutory responsibilities for an area or site
• The Regional Council
• Persons or Organisations whose use or enjoyment of an area could be adversely affected
• Any other person who the Council considers to be adversely affected by the application.
  
  

Iwi

When the RMA became law in 1991 it introduced obligations to deal specifically with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and Maori interests.  These include:

• A requirement to recognise and provide for Maori cultural and traditional relationships with their ancestral land, water, sites, sacred sites (waahi tapu) and other valued possessions, or treasures (taonga)
• A requirement to have particular regard to the exercise of guardianship (Kaitiakitanga)
• A requirement to take the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi into account.

Consultation is an important part of the treaty obligation and may be at the whanau (extended family), hapu (family group) or Iwi level.  It can lead to a fuller and better understanding by all people involved and will identify if the Iwi is an affected or interested party.

The Council is able to advise on Iwi contacts and it is recommended that consultation be undertaken early in the preparation of making an application.  Should there be a reason not to consult with Iwi, this should be stated in the Assessment of Environmental Effects and clear reasons given.  Council will give careful consideration to both affected party status and regard to the exercise of Kaitiakitanga.  If there is doubt during processing their written approval will be required.