Hearings information
The Proposed Waikato Regional Coastal Plan will soon be moving to the hearings stage, where submitters have the opportunity to speak to a hearings panel about their submission.
A hearing panel of independent commissioners and councillors has been established. The panel is: Greg Hill (chair), Hugh Leersnyder, Vicki Morrison-Shaw, and regional councillors Warren Maher and Stuart Kneebone. The independent commissioners have extensive experience in plan hearings with specialist expertise in coastal management, regional planning and tikanga Māori.
The latest information on the hearings, including Section 42A reports and associated documents can be found below.
Hearings schedule
A hearing of submissions is scheduled to commence on Monday 17 February 2025 in Hamilton with hearings likely to run until mid/late April 2025.
A detailed hearing schedule will be prepared later setting out the days, times and venue(s) of the hearings, as well the submitters to be heard on each of those days. This will be completed and made public once the Hearings Panel has a better understanding of how many submitters wish to be heard, and how much time is sought to present their submissions and evidence.
Section 42A hearing reports
This suite of reports is prepared under the provisions of Section 42A of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The reports summarise and evaluate submissions on the Proposed Waikato Regional Coastal Plan for the Hearing Panel and recommend possible amendments to the plan in response to those submissions.
The Proposed Waikato Regional Coastal Plan document has been updated to include the Section 42A reports recommended changes (strikethrough):
About the Hearing Panel
The Hearings Panel is responsible for hearing and deliberating on submissions to the proposed coastal plan, and then making recommendations to the council.
Selection criteria for the panel included accreditation for decision making under the Resource Management Act and an understanding of the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement and Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act.
The independent commissioners appointed have a proven record of understanding complex resource management issues and a familiarity with coastal policy issues.
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