24 Aug 2023
PORT OTAGO LIMITED v ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE SOCIETY INCORPORATED [2023] NZSC 112
- Citation
- [2023] NZRMA 422
- Court
- Supreme Court
Both the NZCPS ports policy and the NZCPS avoidance policies are directive; conflicts between them can arise because ports form an existing national network necessarily operating in the coastal environment. Such conflicts should be addressed in regional policy statements and plans as far as possible, but where factual uncertainty remains they must be resolved by a structured analysis at the resource consent stage that tests necessity for safe and efficient port operation, considers alternatives, seeks to avoid material harm (including by conditions, mitigation, remedy or adaptive management w…