Environment and resource management law

With its abundance of natural and physical resources, the environment in Aotearoa New Zealand is often at the forefront of litigation before courts, local authorities and other decision-making bodies. Bankside Chambers has a number of members with significant experience in navigating the complex environmental and planning regulations at both national and local levels.

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Our members have decades of experience with resource consenting and designation processes, and in advocating for clients seeking improvements to planning frameworks at all levels. Our specialist practitioners regularly appear before Councils and the Environment Court on matters of importance to the environment and the development of resource management law. Before the senior courts, our members seek injunctions, judicial review and determinations of legal questions of significance to environmental and planning law.

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In 2023, the enactment of the Natural and Built Environment Act and the introduction of a number of National Policy Statements demonstrates the constantly evolving nature of this area of the law. In addition to their work before courts and Councils, our members have been directly involved in advocating for, and making sense of, these changes, which have recently addressed matters such as climate change, public works, urban development, wetlands, and the values of highly productive farmland.