Thursday workshops

Mike Doesburg and Lucy de Latour from Wynn Williams will provide us with an insightful and comprehensive update of recent case law in the resource management and environmental space, including insights into applicability going forwards as the resource management reforms take shape.

Lake Hayes/Te whaka ata a Haki-te-kura/Waiwhakaata is treasured by locals and visitors alike. Its on the doorstep of peoples' homes and is surrounded by one of the area's most popular walking and cycling trails. It hosts the Queenstown rowing club and is extremely popular for swimming, kayaking, paddleboarding and fishing. It’s a picture postcard. However, contact recreation and dog walking are not always safe. Despite holding deep meaning for many people, since the 1960s it has been in a phase of acute degradation and is currently still eutrophic. This workshop will look at the collective efforts and success stories that are underway, to gather information, determine causes of decline, and identify operational, financial and regulatory actions that combined are hoped to restore the lake's water, the ecosystem and the health and wellbeing of the people who connect to the lake.

Join this workshop and be inspired by examples of how companies are utilising technology to pivot their practices and approaches to environmental problems - providing new age solutions to overcome current and anticipated future barriers to doing business. Whether its electricity generation, food production or transport, these leading-edge companies are working to address New Zealand’s basic economic and community needs in new and exciting ways that reduce effects on the environment. They are giving new meaning to ‘doing more with less’. Come and see what the future looks like and discover what it could mean for resource management and our future urban and rural environments.

The Supreme Court has recognised the importance of tikanga in the New Zealand legal system. In its determination allowing the continuation of an appeal against historical convictions despite the appellant's death, it was "unanimous that tikanga has been and will continue to be recognised in the development of the common law of Aotearoa/New Zealand in cases where it is relevant". This was not a new development – the lower courts, including the Environment in Re Ngā Kaitiaki o Te Awa o Ngaruroro, have previously recognised that importance. Similarly, the New Zealand Council of Legal Education has recognised the importance of tikanga in the law, by amending the content of the New Zealand law degree to include Tikanga Māori and philosophy including by making Tikanga Māori philosophy a compulsory subject for all law students. For many existing resource management practitioners, our understanding of tikanga, te reo Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, will be inadequate. It is imperative that we develop our understanding and knowledge in line with industry updates in order to undertake our work in a way that respects and acknowledges the importance of tikanga. Join us for an insightful presentation on the importance of tikanga in the resource management space, where we will discuss recent changes in case law, legislative instruments and relevant cultural considerations.

Take this opportunity to engage with the Hon Eugenie Sage and Hon Rachel Brooking as they respond to your questions and reflect on their time in Government, with a focus on their involvement in NZs environmental and planning law and policy, including as chair and co-chair of the Environment Committee reporting on the NBEA and SPA bills respectively.