Infrastructure, development and primary sector national direction

The National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPSIB), the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL), and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) and National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-F) provide direction to councils to identify, protect and manage the adverse effects on significant natural areas (SNAs), HPL and wetlands (respectively), while providing for the social, economic and cultural wellbeing of people and communities.

These national direction documents provide for consent pathways for quarrying and mining activities that adversely affect SNAs, wetlands and HPL. The terminology and consent pathways differ across the three documents.

The Government has committed to:

• unlocking development capacity for housing and business growth and doubling mineral exports (to support this commitment, locally sourced aggregate and minerals are needed) 
• improving the consistency of the consent pathways in the NPS-FM, NPS-HPL and NPSIB for quarrying and mining.

We are consulting on changes to align definitions across four national direction instruments that provide for quarrying and mining, and to ensure the consent pathways are consistent.

Inconsistent terminology across national direction instruments on quarrying and mining

The NPS-FM, NPSIB and NPS-HPL have inconsistent terminology for quarrying and mining activities. For example, “quarrying activities” are referred to in the NPS-FM and NES-F, whereas the NPSIB and NPS-HPL use “aggregate extraction” (undefined). The definition of quarrying activities in the National Planning Standards includes both the activity of quarrying as well as the ancillary activities needed to support it.³⁹

Similarly, the NPS-FM and NES-F refer to “the extraction of minerals and ancillary activities”, whereas the NPSIB and NPS-HPL use “mineral extraction”. Neither term is defined. The NPS-FM term covers all the activities needed to support mineral extraction and ensure a viable consent pathway.

Inconsistent gateway tests and consent pathways for mining and quarrying

The national policy statements provide consent pathways for specific purposes (eg, quarrying and mining) and regulate certain activities⁴⁰ where they adversely affect SNAs, HPL and wetlands. The consent pathways allow consent authorities to recognise government goals – including social and economic wellbeing and the need for resources – while managing adverse effects of activities on SNAs, HPL and wetlands.⁴¹

To access these consent pathways, a consent application must show a need exists for the adverse effects on protected environments to occur by meeting certain ‘gateway tests’. If the application meets these gateway tests, a proposal’s adverse effects can be managed using an effects management hierarchy. For example, the gateway tests for quarrying in or around a wetland under the NPS-FM and NES-F are that the aggregate will provide significant national or regional benefits, and there is a functional need for the quarry to be in that location.

The NPSIB has different gateway tests relevant to SNAs, including that there is an operational or functional need, and that the proposal provides significant regional and or national public benefits that could not otherwise be achieved using resources within New Zealand. The NPS-HPL applies three gateway tests similar to those in the NPSIB. 

^{39 The National Planning Standards define ‘quarrying activities’ as “the extraction, processing (including crushing, screening, washing and blending), transport, storage, sale and recycling of aggregates (clay, silt, rock and sand), the deposition of overburden material, rehabilitation, landscaping and cleanfilling of the quarry, and the use of land and accessory buildings for offices, workshops and car parking areas associated with the operation of the quarry.” Ministry for the Environment. 2022. National Planning Standards. Wellington: Ministry for the Environment. p 62.}

^{41 For example, the wetland provisions control vegetation clearance, earthworks and water take, use, discharges for mining and/or quarrying.}

^{42 SNAs and wetlands are matters of national importance under section 6 of the RMA and require consenting authorities “to recognise and provide for” them in decision-making. HPL is listed under section 7 of the RMA and requires consenting authorities to have “particular regard” for HPL in decision-making.}

We are consulting on changes to align the terminology and gateway tests for quarrying and mining in the NPSIB, NPS-HPL, NPS-FM and NES-F.

The proposal to amend the NPSIB:

• replaces “mineral extraction” with “the extraction of minerals and ancillary activities” and replaces “aggregate extraction” with “quarrying activities” (to be consistent with the National Planning Standards, NPS-FM and NES-F)
• removes “could not otherwise be achieved using resources in New Zealand”, for consistency with the NPS-FM and NES-F
• removes the requirement for the benefit to be “public” (ie, allowing any benefits to be considered) 
• adds consideration of “regional benefits” to the mining consent pathway.

The proposal to amend the NPS-FM and NES-F:

• adds “operational need” as a gateway test (to the existing “functional need” test) in wetlands for mining and quarrying, to make it consistent with the other national direction instruments.

The proposal to amend the NPS-HPL:

• replaces “mineral extraction” with “the extraction of minerals and ancillary activities” and replaces “aggregate extraction” with “quarrying activities” (to be consistent with the National Planning Standards, NPS-FM and NES-F)
• removes “could not otherwise be achieved using resources in New Zealand”, for consistency with the NPS-FM and NES-F 
• removes the requirement for the benefit to be “public” (ie, allowing any benefits to be considered removes the requirement for the benefit to be ‘public’ (ie, allowing any benefits to be considered))
• adds consideration of “regional benefits” to the mining consent pathway.

Proposed provisions to amend the instruments are included in the following attachments.

• NPSIB – refer to attachment 2.5.
• NPS-HPL – refer to attachment 2.4. This attachment also addresses other changes to the NPS-HPL (outlined in Part 2.4 of this document).
• NPS-FM and NES-F – refer to attachment 2.6.

Table 9 includes an overview of the anticipated impacts of the proposed changes on various parties. More detailed information about the potential impacts of the proposal is included in the Interim Regulatory Impact Statement: Providing a consistent consenting pathway for quarrying and mining affecting significant natural areas, highly productive land and wetlands available on the Ministry for the Environment’s website. 

Table 9: Overview of anticipated impacts of the proposed amendments for quarrying and mining in the NPS-IB, NPS-HPL, NPS-FM and NES-F

The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform considers the proposals to be consistent with the purpose of the RMA, because they provide for the social and economic wellbeing of people and communities for infrastructure and development, by improving the certainty of rules for using mineral and aggregate natural resources while retaining existing requirements to manage the effects of quarrying and mining on protected environments.

The proposals to enable quarrying and mining may increase the number of projects that can access consent pathways – and, therefore, the number of projects that Māori groups may want to engage with. Impacts of specific projects on Māori rights and interests will depend on location.

Generally, proposals do not change the ability to take the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, into account, or to recognise and provide for the relationship of Māori and their culture with their taonga as a matter of national importance in the resource management system under the RMA.

We have not identified any significant impacts of the proposals on Treaty settlements or related arrangements.

Further engagement with tangata whenua and PSGEs through the public consultation process will increase our understanding of the implications of these options on Māori rights and interests, including any impacts on Treaty settlement redress arrangements. Consultation will also be necessary to test whether iwi, hapū and other Māori groups have concerns about the proposal or any perceived impacts on sites of significance to Māori, marae, Māori land, land returned under Treaty settlements, or other matters of significance to Māori groups.

Once amendments to national policy statements are gazetted, councils must have regard to those provisions (as relevant – eg, the NPSIB and NPS-HPL) when making consent decisions.

In respect of the relevant freshwater sections (on wetlands) in the NPS-FM, these clauses are required to be directly inserted into regional plans under section 55 of the RMA, without using the plan-making process in Schedule 1 of the RMA. Councils must update their plans as soon as possible following gazettal.

Amendments to the NES-F would take effect immediately and will drive both consent applications and decision-making as soon as the amended NES-F is gazetted.