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25: Residual powers of Minister for the Environment
or “The Minister can step in and do the local authority's job if they're not doing it well enough.”
You could also call this:

“The Environment Minister can tell councils to make or change plans about managing resources”

The Minister for the Environment can tell a regional council to make a plan, change a plan, or change a proposed plan about how to manage resources. This can be about any job the council has to do under section 30. The Minister can say if this should cover all or part of the council’s area. The Minister must give the council enough time to let people know about the plan or changes.

The Minister can also tell a city or district council to change its district plan or proposed district plan. This can be about any job the council has to do under section 31. Again, the Minister must give the council enough time to let people know about the changes.

When the Minister tells a council to do these things, they have to do them.

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Next up: 25B: Ministers may direct commencement of review

or “ The government's top leaders can tell local councils to start looking at and updating their plans for managing land and water. ”
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Part 4 Functions, powers, and duties of central and local government
Functions, powers, and duties of Ministers

25AMinister may direct preparation of plan, change, or variation

  1. The Minister for the Environment—

  2. may direct a regional council—
    1. to prepare a regional plan that addresses a resource management issue relating to a function in section 30; or
      1. to prepare a change to its regional plan that addresses the issue; or
        1. to prepare a variation to its proposed regional plan that addresses the issue; and
        2. may direct the council, in preparing the plan, change, or variation, to deal with the whole or a specified part of the council's region; and
          1. must, in giving a direction, specify a reasonable period within which the plan, change, or variation must be notified.

            1. The Minister—

            2. may direct a territorial authority—
              1. to prepare a change to its district plan that addresses a resource management issue relating to a function in section 31; or
                1. to prepare a variation to its proposed district plan that addresses the issue; and
                2. must, in giving a direction, specify a reasonable period within which the change or variation must be notified.

                  Notes
                  • Section 25A: inserted, on , by section 8 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 87).