NZ Law Society
Added: Feb 17, 2012
A new bill aimed at establishing an environmental regime for New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf should be amended to make it consistent with the Resource Management Act 1991 and international law, the New Zealand Law Society says.
The Law Society submission on the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill has been presented to Parliament’s Local Government and Environment Committee by Law Society Environmental Law Committee member Robert Makgill.
Mr Makgill says inconsistencies between the Bill, New Zealand’s international obligations and the Resource Management Act raise doubt about the ability of the Bill to achieve integrated management, which is a touchstone of modern environmental law.
“The way in which parts of the Bill are drafted is at odds with key international environmental law principles such as ‘sustainable development’ and the ‘precautionary approach’,” he says.