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Environment, Planning & Resource Management
Specialist law experts for Resource Management Act consents, environmental court hearings, and planning compliance.
The next few years will see a fundamental overhaul of New Zealand’s planning laws, coupled with a need for significant investment to overcome our country’s infrastructure deficit, housing affordability issues and to address climate change.
With New Zealand’s strongest resource management legal team, we can help clients navigate a changing legislative landscape and deliver successful outcomes.
Our team has a strong focus on infrastructure, urban development and energy, regularly advising private and public sector clients on the consenting of large-scale projects.
We are key advisers to local government bodies. We assist many city, district, and regional councils with strategic advice and with resolving environmental disputes, and also advise on local, regional, and national planning documents and associated processes.
Our experts regularly appear in appeals before councils, the Environment Court, and superior courts. They also appear before the courts on a variety of other proceedings, such as judicial review and declaration proceedings. They are frequently involved in Environment Court mediations.
We assist a wide range of industries to manage their environmental risks and responsibilities, including the energy, property development, transport, water and waste water, forestry, manufacturing, retail, waste management and mining sectors.
Work Highlights
Major infrastructure and urban development projects
We have advised on projects central to the ongoing development of Auckland. These include the consenting of the large-scale development required for Auckland to host the 36th America’s Cup, and the Downtown projects, which involved new and strengthened seawalls, a relocated Ferry Terminal and a new downtown public space.
We have advised on the consenting of major public transport projects, including the $1.4 billion Eastern Busway and Auckland Light Rail.
We advise developers on large-scale housing projects across the Auckland region, as well as retirement village operators across New Zealand. We are also advising private developers and central government on significant housing proposals in Wellington, Queenstown Lakes and Christchurch.
We acted for Datagrid New Zealand to secure resource consent for a $3.5 billion data centre campus near Invercargill, which will become New Zealand's first hyperscale AI factory.
Water services
We have acted for Watercare on critical projects and upgrades to its water supply and wastewater networks. These include an additional water take from the Waikato River (to secure Auckland's water supply needs until 2043), designations for the Pukekohe East reservoirs, reconsenting of the Pukekohe Wastewater Treatment Plant, and Watercare’s comprehensive Auckland-wide wastewater network discharge consent.
We are also advising on the consenting of a new water treatment plant to replace the aging existing Huia water treatment plant which supplies 20% of Auckland’s water.
We have advised several city and district councils in the lower North Island and in Christchurch on significant water and wastewater projects.
Fast-track consenting
Navigating the Fast-track Approvals Act requires a different approach to standard RMA processes. Drawing on experience across both referral and substantive applications, we provide practical advice on legal requirements, consenting strategy and the unique pace of the Fast-track process.
Our experience spans major infrastructure, residential, minerals and energy projects throughout New Zealand, acting for applicants as well as iwi, district and regional councils. This includes advising residential developers in Auckland and Canterbury, the applicant for the Southern Link Inland Port in Otago, OceanaGold in respect of its Waihi North Project and the Macraes Phase 4 gold mine extension, and Rua Gold in respect of the Auld Creek gold mine. Our team have also sat on Expert Consenting Panels, and independently facilitated planning workshops for a significant mining project.
We have also supported local authorities on a wide range of significant infrastructure and housing projects, including developments for Queenstown Lakes District Council such as Ayrburn, RCL Homestead Bay, Bowen Peak, Southern Infrastructure Gondola, Simplicity, Mt Iron Developments and the Remarkables Extension, the Taranaki VTM project (seabed mining), Mt Welcome in Porirua, and a number of projects in Canterbury including NZTA’s Belfast to Pegasus Bypass, and the Ryans Road and Pound Road industrial developments.
District and regional plan reviews
Our work has included advising Auckland Council on the Auckland Unitary Plan, the first ever combined regional and district plan for Auckland, Christchurch City Council on its District Plan Review (which dealt with circumstances facing post-earthquake Christchurch) and Queenstown Lakes District Council on its district plan review.
In respect of the Queenstown Lakes plan review, we have acted for the Council on over 100 appeals before the Environment Court, and through higher courts, including all strategic appeals, all appeals relating to Outstanding Natural Landscapes and significant ‘tourism’ destinations, and all ‘intensification’ work required to give effect to the National Policy Statement for Urban Development.
We also advise a range of councils including Tauranga City Council, Porirua City Council, New Plymouth District Council, Kāpiti Coast District Council, South Taranaki District Council on district plan changes and reviews, and Taranaki, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay Regional Councils on regional plan changes and reviews.
Our work on plan reviews is not limited to leading those process on behalf of local authorities. We act for a range of infrastructure, developers, energy and minerals and resources clients on planning processes across the country.
Marine consents
We have industry leading specialist expertise in marine consents under the Exclusive Economic Zone (Environmental Effects) Act 2011.
We have consented and reconsented (as the existing consents have expired) the Maari, Maui and Kupe assets, which are the three major oil and gas fields offshore of Taranaki. We have led multiple consenting processes for exploration, appraisal and development drilling throughout Taranaki, the Canterbury Basin and the Great South Basin. We acted for BW Offshore Limited in relation to the Tui Oil field decommissioning.
Minerals and Resources
We have a legacy of acting on large scale mineral and resources projects across New Zealand, including in the EEZ.
We are currently advising and representing OceanaGold in relation to its Waihi North project, which includes the Wharekirauponga underground mine underneath the Coromandel Forest Park, projected to generate 1.6 million ounces of gold and 3 million ounces of silver. We are also advising OceanaGold on its Macraes Phase 4 extension project, which is a brownfields extension to the existing Macraes operation that will add at least 11 years to life to the Macraes mine.
We are acting for Rua Gold to obtain the necessary consents, permits and Crown approvals for its Auld Creek underground gold and antinomy mine near Reefton. The Auld Creek mine uses narrow vein mining technology and will support the establishment of a regional processing hub capable of supporting prospects in the area.
We represented Chatham Rock Phosphate in its application for marine consents to dredge phosphate nodules on the Chatham Rise.
For all of these projects, we assist our clients with obtaining Crown issued permits under the Crown Minerals Act 1991, Conservation Act 1987 and Wildlife Act 1953, as well as engaging with the government in related legislative reform.
