Judicial Decision Making Under the Resource Management Act 1991: A critical assessment

Abstract

The judicial history of the Resource Management Act is noteworthy in that the flood of litigation expected to follow the passage of the Act has not materialised. The litigation that has occurred has tended to be very fact-oriented and the Planning Tribunal has (in the opinion of the author) shown a marked reluctance to tackle many of the serious issues that need to be decided in order for the Act to function effectively. This article attempts to provide some explanations for this phenomenon by analysing several decisions of both the Planning Tribunal and the High Court. In addition it will be shown that on certain occasions where the Planning Tribunal has taken a more adventurous approach and tackled key definitions, the resulting decisions have provided useful guidance for decision makers working with the Act on a regular basis. If the Act is to function properly, the Planning Tribunal must use these decisions as blueprints for its future deliberations.