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61: Matters to be considered by regional council (policy statements)
or “Regional councils must follow specific rules and consider various documents when creating or changing their policy statements about managing regional resources.”
You could also call this:

“This explains what important things must be included in a regional plan for managing natural resources.”

A regional policy statement is an important document that outlines how a region will manage its resources. You need to include several key things in this statement:

You must state the big resource management issues for your region. This includes issues that are important to iwi authorities in your area.

You need to set out what you want to achieve with this statement. These are called objectives. You also need to explain the policies you’ll use to reach these objectives.

You have to describe the methods you’ll use to put these policies into action. However, you can’t include rules in this part.

It’s important to explain why you chose these objectives, policies, and methods. You also need to say what environmental results you expect from using these policies and methods.

You must outline how you’ll handle issues that involve more than one local authority or cross boundaries between regions.

You need to specify which local authority is responsible for controlling land use. This includes avoiding or reducing natural hazards and maintaining indigenous biodiversity.

You have to explain how you’ll check if your policies and methods are working well.

If you don’t say who’s responsible for avoiding natural hazards, the regional council will be in charge of this. Local councils will be responsible for maintaining indigenous biodiversity if it’s not specified.

Your regional policy statement must follow any water conservation orders. It also needs to carry out what’s in the national policy statement, the New Zealand coastal policy statement, and any national planning standards.

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Next up: 63: Purpose of regional plans

or “Regional plans help councils do their job and look after the environment, including coastal areas.”
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Part 5 Standards, policy statements, and plans
Local authority policy statements and plans: Regional policy statements

62Contents of regional policy statements

  1. A regional policy statement must state—

  2. the significant resource management issues for the region; and
    1. the resource management issues of significance to iwi authorities in the region; and
      1. the objectives sought to be achieved by the statement; and
        1. the policies for those issues and objectives and an explanation of those policies; and
          1. the methods (excluding rules) used, or to be used, to implement the policies; and
            1. the principal reasons for adopting the objectives, policies, and methods of implementation set out in the statement; and
              1. the environmental results anticipated from implementation of those policies and methods; and
                1. the processes to be used to deal with issues that cross local authority boundaries, and issues between territorial authorities or between regions; and
                  1. the local authority responsible in the whole or any part of the region for specifying the objectives, policies, and methods for the control of the use of land—
                    1. to avoid or mitigate natural hazards or any group of hazards; and
                        1. to maintain indigenous biological diversity; and
                        2. the procedures used to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of the policies or methods contained in the statement; and
                          1. any other information required for the purpose of the regional council's functions, powers, and duties under this Act.

                            1. If no responsibilities are specified in the regional policy statement for functions described in subsection (1)(i)(i) or (ii), the regional council retains primary responsibility for the function in subsection (1)(i)(i) and the territorial authorities of the region retain primary responsibility for the function in subsection (1)(i)(ii).

                            2. A regional policy statement must not be inconsistent with any water conservation order and must give effect to a national policy statement, a New Zealand coastal policy statement, or a national planning standard.

                            Notes
                            • Section 62: replaced, on , by section 25 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 23).
                            • Section 62(1)(b): replaced, on , by section 128 of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (2011 No 3).
                            • Section 62(1)(i)(ii): repealed, on , by section 53(1) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
                            • Section 62(3): amended, on , by section 53(2) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).