Improving Aotearoa New Zealand's environmental reporting system

Closed 18 Mar 2022

Opened 8 Feb 2022

Results updated 4 Jul 2022

From 8 February to 18 March 2022, the Ministry for the Environment consulted on proposed amendments to the Environmental Reporting Act 2015.

Thank you to all who made a submission.

Read the summary of submissions [PDF, 1.1 MB]

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

The Environmental Reporting Act 2015 (ERA) provides the framework for independent, structured and regular reports on the state of New Zealand’s environment. This helps us understand how our environment is tracking and the impacts of our activities over time, which is vital for good decision-making.

While the ERA has made positive changes to the way we report on the environment, we need to extend its functionality and breadth so environmental reports have more impact.

The Government is proposing amendments to the ERA to strengthen how we report on the environment.

This consultation closed on 18 March 2022.

Read the summary document Te whakawhanake i te pūnaha rīpoata taiao o Aotearoa | Improving Aotearoa New Zealand’s environmental reporting system [PDF, 296 KB]

Read the consultation document Te whakawhanake i te pūnaha rīpoata taiao o Aotearoa | Improving Aotearoa New Zealand’s environmental reporting system [PDF, 3.1 MB]

Read the preliminary cost benefit analysis [PDF, 1.6 MB]

Integrating te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori

A key aspect of our work to improve the ERA is giving a stronger voice to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori. This includes exploring how mātauranga Māori, data, evidence, knowledge and science could be shared, collected, managed and protected in environmental reporting.

In addition to the proposals set out in our consultation document, we also asked some broader questions about how we can better incorporate te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori within environmental reporting.

Read the information sheet Integrating te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori in environmental reporting [PDF, 266KB]

Watch the recording of our webinar on integrating te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori in environmental reporting

What happens next

We have analysed the feedback we received to inform final recommendations to the Government.

Once proposals are agreed, legislation will be drafted and an amendment to the ERA (through an amendment bill) will be introduced to Parliament, likely at the end of 2022.

If you have any queries, please email era.consultation@mfe.govt.nz.