What’s a Regional Policy Statement?
A Regional Policy Statement (RPS) is a mandatory document that provides:
- an overview of the resource management issues of the region
- the ways in which integrated management of the region’s natural and physical resources will be achieved.
An RPS can have a considerable impact on resource management decision making within the region. It sets the direction for management of our region’s natural and physical resources over a ten year period – and decisions made on matters like infrastructure for many years beyond. By setting a framework promoting the sustainable management of our natural and physical resources, the RPS can help achieve community aspirations for our region.
Find out more about the existing Waikato Regional Policy Statement.
Review of the Regional Policy Statement
The Waikato region’s existing RPS, which became operative in 2000, is currently being reviewed. All regions must have an RPS, and are required to review it every 10 years.
Since the existing RPS came into effect in 2000, significant changes in the Waikato region and beyond have put pressure on our region’s natural and physical resources. The issues considered in the RPS review include:
- decline in the quality and availability of natural resources
- effects of climate change
- increasing demands for energy nationally, which, as a major energy provider, creates demand for our resources used for energy needs
- increasing demand for development in coastal and rural areas
- damage to the relationship tangata whenua have with the environment
- degradation of the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River
The political environment in which the RPS operates has also changed, with amendments to the RMA in 2003, 2004 and 2005 imparting new functions on regional councils. Regional and district plans must now "give effect to" an RPS. This means that regional and district plans must contain policies and rules that implement the policy direction set by the RPS.
What’s happening now
February to May 2012 - RPS hearings
Hearings on the proposed RPS commenced on 13 February and will run through to May/June. The hearings will be held in Hamilton, Thames and Taupo.
If you have any queries regarding the hearings schedule or your speaking time, please contact Hearings Administrator, Steve Rice, on mob 021 191 2346.
Hearings schedule for the 1-8 March is available here: 1-8 March. Please note that these schedules are subject to change. Further schedules will be added as the hearings progress.
The proceedings, tabled items and sound files for each day of hearings day will be available here the following day.
What’s happened to date
January 2012 - Staff report on submissions
The staff report providing recommendations on changes requested in submissions on the proposed RPS 2010 is now available. The report contains Waikato Regional Council staff’s analysis of and recommendation on each of the 4465 submission points.
A strikethrough version of the RPS (“Staff Strikethrough”) showing changes proposed as a result of the staff report on submissions is also available.
You can read or download the staff report and staff strikethrough version of the RPS below. The documents are in PDF format, and are searchable and bookmarked. Click on the black panel down the left hand side of the pdf document to use the bookmarks. (For those not familiar with reading and navigating PDF documents, more information is available here.)
Staff Report on Submissions (Volume One) (5 mb)
Contains reader’s guide, list of submitters, and Recommendations 1 to 198 (up to and including chapter 7)
Staff Report on Submissions (Volume Two) (4 mb)
Contains Recommendations 199 to 396 (chapter 8 to end)
Proposed Waikato Regional Policy Statement ("Staff Strikethrough") (13 mb)
November 2011 - RPS review newsletter
Our e-newsletter has all the latest news on the RPS review.
August 2011 - Analysis of submissions
Staff are analysing submissions and making recommendations on the decisions requested prior to the hearings, which will take place in 2012.
July 2011 - Composition of RPS hearings committee decided
The Waikato Regional Council decided on 28 July that a six-member hearing committee would be appointed to consider submissions on the proposed Regional Policy Statement (RPS) from early 2012.
Read the media release.
June to July 2011 - Further submissions
From 17 June until 15 July 2011, further submissions were sought on the proposed RPS 2010 Summary of Submissions. The period for further submissions was extended from 10 to 20 working days due to the number of submissions and decisions requested.
Further submissions could only be made in support or opposition of matters raised in the original submissions and new matters could not be raised.
You can view the Summary of Submissions online
To view the full further submissions of a submitter, please see the RPS further submissions webpage.
April 2011 - Submissions available online
The 200 submissions received on the proposed RPS 2010 were made available online. This was not a call for further submissions. Read more on the RPS submissions webpage.
March 2011 - Preparation of summary of submissions
Submissions closed on the proposed RPS 2010 at 4pm on Monday 28 February 2011, with a total of 200 submissions received. A summary of submissions was prepared.
November 2010 to February 2011 - Submissions received on proposed RPS
The proposed RPS 2010 was publicly notified on 3 November 2010, and submissions closed at 4pm on Monday 28 February 2011. View the Proposed RPS special edition Envirocare.
For background and contextual information on the proposed RPS 2010, see From the Mountains to the Sea.
For the reasoning behind the proposed policies and methods in the proposed RPS 2010, see the Section 32 report.
You can view the proposed RPS 2010 online.
August 2010 - Proposed RPS adopted
On 26 August 2010, the council voted to adopt the proposed RPS. Formal notification was delayed until 3 November 2010 to take into account regional boundary changes coming into effect on 1 November 2010 as part of the creation of the new Auckland Council.
Read the media release.
On 11 August 2010, the policy and strategy committee recommended the proposed RPS be adopted by council, and instructed council staff to continue working closely with local councils and stakeholders on any yet-to-be resolved issues with the proposed RPS.
Read the media release.
March 2010 - Feedback on RPS Working Draft
Seventy-eight organisations and individuals provided feedback on the RPS Working Draft. Feedback informed a series of joint iwi-councillor workshops that guided the development of the proposed RPS. You can download the list of feedback providers below.
List of feedback providers on the RPS Working Draft(33 kb, 4 seconds to download, 56k modem)
For a copy of individual feedback, please contact rps@ew.govt.nz.
December 2009 - RPS Working Draft open for feedback
Waikato Regional Council called for feedback on the RPS Working Draft. Feedback closed on 28 February 2010.
Please note that the Working Draft is not council policy. It is for consultation only and has no weighting under the Resource Management Act 1991. It is a collation of current thinking, and contains gaps, duplications and inconsistencies. The policies and methods it contains are at different stages of development.
View the RPS Working Draft below.
Regional Policy Statement Working Draft(1009 kb, 144 seconds to download, 56k modem)
September 2009 - Waikato Regional Energy Strategy adopted
The Waikato Regional Energy Strategy was adopted in September 2009. Some of the strategy's recommendations will inform the RPS review.
August 2009 - Summary of feedback on RPS review discussion document
A summary of the feedback received by Waikato Regional Council on the RPS review discussion document was released. You can download the summary of feedback in pdf format below: Waikato Regional Policy Statement Review Discussion Document - Summary of feedback(414 kb, 59 seconds to download, 56k modem)
March 2009 - Call for feedback on Waikato RPS review discussion document
We called for feedback on the Waikato RPS review discussion document. Feedback closed on 17 April 2009. View the RPS review discussion document.
October 2008 - Release of Draft Waikato Regional Energy Strategy
The Draft Waikato Regional Energy Strategy was released at an energy conference in Hamilton in October 2008. Its content will contribute to the next RPS.
This non-statutory, multi-stakeholder document was prepared by the Waikato Regional Energy Forum, which we were involved in facilitating.
September 2007 - Evaluation of Waikato RPS
The Evaluation of the Waikato RPS marked the first step in determining how and to what extent the new RPS might need to differ from the current RPS.
Waikato Regional Council is required under the RMA to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of our RPS, and we commissioned an independent evaluation to find out if we were achieving the objectives set in the RPS.
The evaluation looks at each chapter of the RPS, assesses the progress made towards achievement of the objectives and makes recommendations on areas for improvement. This process ensures that the RPS remains relevant by taking account of changes in demands on our resources.
You can download the evaluation of the Waikato Regional Policy Statement below:
Evaluation of the Waikato Regional Policy Statement (539 kb)
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Keep up to date with developments on the RPS review by signing up to receive our policy update newsletter by email.
We welcome your input
Please contact us with any comments or questions you might have about the RPS review.
