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Local Government Act 2002

Planning, decision-making, and accountability - Planning and decision-making - Decision-making

77: Requirements in relation to decisions

You could also call this:

“Rules for making good choices about important things in your community”

When you make decisions, you need to follow certain steps. First, you should try to find all the possible ways to achieve what you want. Then, you need to think about the good and bad points of each option.

If any of your options involve making a big decision about land or water, you must think about how important that land or water is to Māori people. This includes their culture, traditions, and special places. You also need to consider how it might affect plants and animals that Māori value.

Remember, these rules are part of a bigger set of rules. You can find more information about this in section 79.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM172320.

Topics:
Government and voting > Local councils
Māori affairs > Treaty of Waitangi
Environment and resources > Conservation
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“Rules for how your local council makes decisions”

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Part 6 Planning, decision-making, and accountability
Planning and decision-making: Decision-making

77Requirements in relation to decisions

  1. A local authority must, in the course of the decision-making process,—

  2. seek to identify all reasonably practicable options for the achievement of the objective of a decision; and
    1. assess the options in terms of their advantages and disadvantages; and
      1. if any of the options identified under paragraph (a) involves a significant decision in relation to land or a body of water, take into account the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral land, water, sites, waahi tapu, valued flora and fauna, and other taonga.

        1. This section is subject to section 79.

        Notes
        • Section 77(1)(b): replaced, on , by section 21 of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 55).