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Resource Management Act 1991

Resource consents - Pre-hearing meetings and mediation

99: Pre-hearing meetings

You could also call this:

“Meetings to help people understand and solve problems before a big decision is made”

You can be invited or required to attend a meeting about a resource consent application. This meeting is called a pre-hearing meeting. The consent authority can arrange this meeting if you’ve applied for a resource consent or if you’ve made a submission about someone else’s application.

At the meeting, you might meet with other people who have made submissions, the consent authority, and anyone else the authority thinks should be there. The purpose of the meeting is to clear up any questions or help solve any issues.

The consent authority can only make you attend if the person who applied for the resource consent agrees. Sometimes, a person from the authority who can make decisions about the application might join the meeting if everyone agrees.

After the meeting, the person in charge will write a report. This report will list what issues were agreed on and what issues still need to be sorted out. It might also suggest how the hearing should be run.

Everyone who’s part of the application will get this report at least 5 working days before the hearing. The consent authority must think about what’s in the report when they make their decision.

If you’re asked to go to the meeting and don’t show up without a good reason, the consent authority might not look at your application or submission. If this happens, you can’t appeal under section 120, but you can object under section 357A.

If the authority decides not to look at your submission, you also can’t appeal under section 120 or be part of any court cases under section 274. But you can still object under section 357A about them not looking at your submission.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM234338.

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98: Advice of submissions to applicant, or

“The people in charge must quickly tell you who sent in comments about your request.”

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99A: Mediation, or

“Allowing people to talk through their disagreements with the help of a neutral person”

Part 6 Resource consents
Pre-hearing meetings and mediation

99Pre-hearing meetings

  1. A consent authority may invite or require a person who has made an application for a resource consent and some or all of the persons who have made submissions on the application to attend a meeting with the following:

  2. each other or one another; and
    1. the authority; and
      1. anyone else whose presence at the meeting the authority considers appropriate.

        1. The authority may invite or require persons to attend a meeting—

        2. either—
          1. at the request of 1 or more of the persons; or
            1. on its own initiative; and
            2. only for the purpose of—
              1. clarifying a matter or issue; or
                1. facilitating resolution of a matter or issue.

                2. The authority may require persons to attend a meeting only with the consent of the person who made the application.

                3. A person who is a member, delegate, or officer of the authority, and who has the power to make the decision on the application that is the subject of the meeting, may attend and participate if—

                4. the authority is satisfied that its member, delegate, or officer should be able to attend and participate; and
                  1. all the persons at the meeting agree.

                    1. The chairperson of the meeting must, before the hearing, prepare a report that—

                    2. does not include anything communicated or made available at the meeting on a without prejudice basis; and
                      1. for the parties who attended the meeting,—
                        1. sets out the issues that were agreed; and
                          1. sets out the issues that are outstanding; and
                          2. for all the parties,—
                            1. may set out the nature of the evidence that the parties are to call at the hearing; and
                              1. may set out the order in which the parties are to call the evidence at the hearing; and
                                1. may set out a proposed timetable for the hearing.

                                2. The chairperson of the meeting must, before the hearing, send the report to the authority and all the parties so that they have it at least 5 working days before the hearing.

                                3. The consent authority must have regard to the report in making its decision on the application.

                                4. If a person required to attend a meeting fails to do so, and does not give a reasonable excuse, the consent authority may decline—

                                5. to process the person's application; or
                                  1. to consider the person's submission.

                                    1. If the consent authority declines, under subsection (8)(a), to process the person's application,—

                                    2. the person may not appeal under section 120 against the decision; and
                                      1. the person may object under section 357A against the decision.

                                        1. If the consent authority declines, under subsection (8)(b), to consider the person's submission, the person—

                                        2. may not appeal under section 120 against—
                                          1. the decision to decline to consider the submission; or
                                            1. the decision on the application; and
                                            2. may not become under section 274 a party to proceedings; and
                                              1. may object under section 357A against the decision to decline to consider the submission.

                                                Notes
                                                • Section 99: replaced, on , by section 57(2) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 87).