45Purpose of national policy statements (other than New Zealand coastal policy statements)

1. The purpose of national policy statements is to state objectives and policies for matters of national significance that are relevant to achieving the purpose of this Act.

2. In determining whether it is desirable to prepare a national policy statement, the Minister may have regard to—

3. the actual or potential effects of the use, development, or protection of natural and physical resources:
4. New Zealand's interests and obligations in maintaining or enhancing aspects of the national or global environment:
5. anything which affects or potentially affects any structure, feature, place, or area of national significance:
6. anything which affects or potentially affects more than 1 region:
7. anything concerning the actual or potential effects of the introduction or use of new technology or a process which may affect the environment:
8. anything which, because of its scale or the nature or degree of change to a community or to natural and physical resources, may have an impact on, or is of significance to, New Zealand:
9. anything which, because of its uniqueness, or the irreversibility or potential magnitude or risk of its actual or potential effects, is of significance to the environment of New Zealand:
10. anything which is significant in terms of section 8 (Treaty of Waitangi):
11. the need to identify practices (including the measures referred to in section 24(h), relating to economic instruments) to implement the purpose of this Act:
12. any other matter related to the purpose of a national policy statement.

Notes

• Section 45(1): amended, on 20 May 2003, by section 19 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 23).