Source: NZ Ministry for Primary Industries
Have your say
The Government is consulting on changes to national direction instruments as part of its wider reform of the resource management system.
Feedback will help shape how the proposals are finalised.
The updated instruments will set resource management policy and rules for regional and local plans, policy statements, and resource consent decisions.
You can make a submission from Thursday 29 May until 11.59pm on Sunday 27 July 2025.
What’s being proposed?
There are several consultation packages. Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is leading changes with Ministry for the Environment (MfE) on national direction in packages 2 and 3.
Primary sector (Package 2)
Package 2 focuses on the Government’s plan to enable growth in the primary sector by making changes to 8 national direction instruments.
Instruments in Package 2:
- Amendments to the National Environmental Standards for Marine Aquaculture
- Amendments to the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry
- Amendments to the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement
- Amendments to the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land
- Amendments to the Stock Exclusion Regulations
- Amendments to the mining and quarrying provisions in:
- National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity
- National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land
- National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management
- National Environmental Standards for Freshwater.
More information on Package 2 – MfE
Freshwater (Package 3)
Package 3 focuses on freshwater.
The Government is seeking feedback on options to amend freshwater national direction to better reflect the interests of all water users, and on whether changes should be implemented under the existing RMA or under new resource management legislation.
Further consultation will be undertaken, later this year, through a more detailed exposure draft of the proposed freshwater national direction.
More information on Package 3 – MfE
Related documents
Supplementary information on amendments to the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry (NES-CF) [PDF, 537 KB]
Making your submission
Submissions must be received by the MfE by 11:59pm on 27 July 2025.
Submissions are public information
Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.
People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.
If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.
