Simon Berry and his team assisted Local Government New Zealand ("LGNZ") and the Waikato Municipal Water Users Group ("WRMUG") to prepare submissions in relation to the Proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.  Simon also represented Environment Waikato at the hearing of submissions by a Board of Inquiry comprising Judge David Sheppard and the commissioners Kevin Prime, Jenni Vernon and Associate Professor Jon Harding in August 2009.

The Proposed Freshwater NPS confirms that the management of New Zealand's fresh water resources is a matter of national importance and aims to guide local government decision making by setting out a series of objectives and policies which will be required to given effect to via planning instruments and resource consent decisions. The Proposed Freshwater NPS sought to improve the quality of all freshwater to a "swimmable" standard by 2035, but adopted an approach which many local councils considered was overly prescriptive and process oriented.

WRMUG, LGNZ and EW supported an "issues based" approach to the NPS rather than a process based approach, which provides strong guidance to local government while retaining the flexibility for regional councils to address the issues arising on a regional basis.

The Board of Inquiry has now issued its report, which acknowledges local government's concerns and recommends a significantly less complex approach to the NPS while promoting the progressive improvement of water quality via phasing out degradation and the over-allocation of fresh water resources. The Government's response to in relation to the report is on hold pending the outcomes of the Land and Water Forum process.

To read the Board of Inquiry's report on the Proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, click here or to read more about fresh water management issues, go to the Ministry for the Environment's website by clicking here.