This is the tenth article in Buddle Findlay's series on the new planning and environment system. This article summarises the key provisions addressing Māori interests in the Planning Act 2026 and Natural Environment Act 2026.
The Treaty of Waitangi / te Tiriti o Waitangi clause
The Planning Act and Natural Environment Act both include a specific Treaty of Waitangi/Tiriti o Waitangi clause. This is set out in section 8 of both Acts, which states that, to recognise the Crown's responsibilities in relation to the Treaty/te Tiriti, the legislation provides for particular matters. Section 8 therefore also provides a roadmap to the relevant provisions in both Acts, which are as follows:
Māori interests goal: Both Acts require that the key instruments of the Acts seek to achieve the goals. One of those goals is to provide for Māori interests through the following:1
Māori participation in the development of national instruments, regional spatial plans and land use plans/natural environment plans
the identification and protection of sites of significance to Māori
enabling the development and protection of identified Māori land
National instruments: Before public notification, the Minister for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (Minister) must seek comment from iwi authorities on a draft or summary of a proposed national instrument and have regard to their comments.2
Regional spatial plans: Local authorities, spatial plan committees and the Minister have obligations to provide for Māori interests when preparing and deciding regional spatial plans, including:3
regional spatial plans must be prepared and changed in accordance with any applicable iwi participation legislation (including Treaty settlement legislation) and any agreement under that legislation
when preparing a draft regional spatial plan, a spatial plan committee must have regard to particular matters, including any statutory acknowledgement and any relevant planning document lodged by an iwi authority
before notification, a spatial plan committee must consult specified Māori groups, provide them with the draft regional spatial plan and have regard to their advice
a regional spatial plan must map or record any statutory acknowledgement, any site of significance to Māori, any customary marine title or protected customary rights area or any aquaculture settlement area
statutory acknowledgements must also be attached to the regional spatial plan for that region
a relevant local authority must ensure that at least one member of a spatial plan committee has knowledge, skills and experience relating to te ao Māori and Māori development
when making decisions on independent hearings panel recommendations on a draft regional spatial plan, the local authorities and Minister must also have regard to any statutory acknowledgement and any relevant planning document lodged by an iwi authority
there are further duties relating to identified Māori land for spatial plan committees, local authorities and the Minister.
Land use plans and natural environment plans: Similar obligations apply to regional councils/local authorities to provide for Māori interests when preparing and deciding these plans.4
Designations: Duties apply to persons exercising powers or performing functions or duties relating to designations or proposed designations that may affect identified Māori land.5
Emergency response regulations: The Minister is required to consult relevant Māori groups before recommending the making of emergency response regulations.6
Treaty/te Tiriti settlements
Throughout the reform process, the Minister for RMA Reform has stated that the Government is committed to upholding Treaty settlements. Treaty settlement arrangements and redress are provided for in the new system through the following mechanisms:
Agreements with post-settlement governance entities (PSGEs): The Crown will seek to negotiate agreements with PSGEs on how their Treaty settlement redress or arrangements will operate in the new system with the same or equivalent effect (to the greatest extent possible) as under the Resource Management Act (RMA).7
General duty: Until agreement is reached in relation to any Treaty settlement redress or arrangement (except statutory acknowledgements), all persons exercising or performing functions, powers or duties under either Act must, to the greatest extent possible, give Treaty settlement redress or arrangements the same or equivalent effect as under the RMA.8
Te Ture Whaimana: Te Ture Whaimana is the vision and strategy provided for in the Waikato and Waipā River Treaty settlements. A specific clause has been added to both Acts that records that Te Ture Whaimana is intended by Parliament to be the primary direction-setting document for the Waikato and Waipā Rivers and activities within their catchments affecting those Rivers. This clause also sets out how Te Ture Whaimana will apply in the new system, including that it will be deemed to be part of any regional spatial plan, land use plan or natural environment plan that affects the Rivers.9
Statutory acknowledgements: There are also specific obligations in relation to statutory acknowledgements. Territorial authorities and regional councils must ensure that, in exercising their planning and other functions, powers and duties, their ability to fulfil obligations relating to statutory acknowledgements is not impeded.10
Wildlife Act approvals: A permit authority must notify any relevant iwi authority or PSGE about an application for a wildlife approval if it considers that notification is required to give effect to Treaty settlement redress.11
Other key provisions
Other provisions addressing Māori interests include:
Consenting requirements
section 17 of the Planning Act specifically limits certain effects from being considered but confirms that the section does not restrict the consideration or management of sites of significance to Māori.12
when making notification decisions, the consent authority must have regard to every relevant statutory acknowledgement.13
Iwi participation agreements: Iwi authorities can request one or more local authorities to enter into an iwi participation agreement.14 Iwi participation agreements:15
may specify how one or more iwi authorities will participate in processes for iwi authority participation provided for under either Act
may specify how one or more iwi authorities will engage on other relevant matters under either Act necessary to implement Treaty settlement redress
must not include matters that are precluded or not provided for.
Compliance and enforcement: A local authority must prepare and publish a compliance and enforcement strategy that takes into account relevant Treaty settlements and voluntary or statutory agreements with local iwi, hapū or Māori.16
Duty to keep records about iwi and hapū: A territorial authority or regional council must keep and maintain records about the iwi and hapū within its district or region (including contact details, iwi participation agreements and planning documents).17
Regulatory relief: In the new system, a local authority must include a relief framework in its proposed plan if it considers that one or more 'specified rules' in that plan are reasonably likely to have a significant adverse impact (either individually or collectively) on the reasonable use of land. A 'specified rule' includes rules that address sites of significance to Māori.18 Our previous article on regulatory relief provides a summary of the regime for regulatory relief in the new system.
There are also mechanisms throughout the Natural Environment Act and Planning Act that provide for Māori interests under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act where these intersect with planning and/or consenting processes. These largely reflect what is already provided for in the RMA.
What is not included in the new system?
The RMA provided for Māori interests in a number of ways that are no longer reflected in the new system. Specifically:
Part 2 RMA considerations: There is no longer an overriding duty on persons acting under the new legislation to act in accordance with the various directions that are currently in Part 2 of the RMA, which are relevant to Māori interests (ie the direction in section 6(e) to recognise and provide for the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, water, sites, waahi tapu, and other taonga; the direction in section 7(a) to have particular regard to kaitiakitanga; or the direction in section 8 to take into account the principles of the Treaty). Instead, section 8 of both Acts provides a specific Treaty/Tiriti clause that is more directive in terms of the scope of Māori interests that can be considered in the new system.
Mana whakahono ā rohe: All mana whakahono ā rohe cease to have legal effect in the new system.19
Transfer of powers: Territorial authorities and regional councils will no longer be able to transfer functions, powers or duties to iwi authorities (as they are excluded from the definition of 'public authority').20
Transitional matters
Key transitional matters for Māori interests include:
Part 2 RMA considerations: Subject to Planning Act amendments, the RMA will continue to be the principal environment and planning legislation during the four-year transition, including its Part 2 directives (in particular, sections 6(e), 7(a) and 8).
Transfers of power: Where a regional council or territorial authority has transferred functions, powers or duties to an iwi authority before the specified transition date, this transfer will continue to have effect and must be treated as a transfer of equivalent functions, powers or duties under the Planning Act or Natural Environment Act.21
Joint management agreements: Where a joint management agreement was made under the RMA before the specified transition date, that agreement continues to have effect and must be treated as an agreement relating to equivalent functions under the Planning Act or Natural Environment Act.22
Conclusion
The new system provides a new approach for the recognition of Māori interests to that which existed under the RMA, particularly through the specific Treaty/Tiriti clause in section 8. The practical implications of this new approach will need to be worked through and tested as the new system comes into force.
Please reach out to our team if you would like to learn more about the new environment and planning system.
1 Section 13 of the Planning Act 2026 (PA) and Natural Environment Act 2026 (NEA). Identified Māori land is defined in section 3 of PA and NEA.
2 Section 65 of PA and section 92 of NEA.
3 Sections 76 and 81-82 and schedule 2 of PA.
4 Section 103 and schedule 3 of PA and section 106 of NEA.
5 Schedule 5 of PA.
6 Section 321 of PA and section 319 of NEA.
7 Section 9 of PA and NEA.
8 Section 10 of PA and NEA.
9 Section 11 of PA and NEA.
10 Section 223 of PA and section 233 of NEA.
11 Clause 16(1) of schedule 3 of NEA.
12 Section 17(3)(e) of PA.
13 Sections 149 and 151 of PA and sections 154 and 156 of NEA.
14 Section 232 of PA and section 242 of NEA.
15 Section 234 of PA and section 244 of NEA.
16 Section 312 of PA and section 309 of NEA.
17 Section 220 of PA and section 232 of NEA.
18 Clause 65 of schedule 3 of PA. Section 62 of schedule 3 of PA defines 'specified rule' as a rule on a specified topic. 'Specified topic' is defined in section 3 of PA and includes sites of significance to Māori.
19 Clause 53 of schedule 1 of PA.
20 Sections 225-226 of PA and sections 235-236 of NEA.
21 Clause 51 of Schedule 1 of PA.
22 Clause 52 of Schedule 1 of PA.