EDS is very pleased to have received a prestigious award for its work on the resource management system reform.
The award, given by the Resource Management Law Association at its annual conference dinner on Friday night, was for its publication Reform of the Resource Management System: the Next Generation by Dr Greg Severinsen and Raewyn Peart.
“This recognition is especially welcome because it acknowledges the hard work and thought leadership by the two authors who have successfully gone back to first principles that should underpin the much-needed reform in this area,” said EDS CEO Gary Taylor.
“The Resource Management Law Association makes this award annually for a publication that ‘has made a significant contribution to the advancement or promotion of the law, theory and practice of resource management.’
“The report took a first principles look at the whole resource management system – not just the RMA, but also the dozens of other legislative frameworks, institutions, tools and norms that underpin how we manage resources and look after our environment. The report outlines various options for change, including sketching out three potential overall models for reform.
“This is the most ambitious project that EDS has tackled, and is actually not over yet. We are currently engaged in a second phase of the work, which is building on the phase 1 foundations, and will propose a preferred model for the resource management system for the future. This final phase will be completed by year end and will provide substantive input into the Government’s reform process now underway.
“It has been particularly gratifying to see The Next Generation being referenced directly in Cabinet papers setting up the Government’s recently appointed system reform panel, which is due to report in May next year.
“We acknowledge with thanks the funders of the project –the New Zealand Law Foundation and the Borrin Foundation, and our business partners EMA, Property Council NZ and Infrastructure NZ,” concluded Mr Taylor.
The report is available at on the EDS website here, and the final report of Phase 2, outlining a proposition for reform, is to be published in December this year.