Kāhu Blog

What are Cultural Impact Assessments? Why are they important?

21/11/2023

With an increasing global focus on cultural diversity and inclusiveness, it’s essential for us to acknowledge and safeguard the cultural values and interests of our indigenous communities here in Aotearoa.

In the resource management space, one powerful tool we can use is the Cultural Impact Assessment (CIA), which plays a pivotal role in evaluating the effects of proposals on cultural values and interests. In this blog post we'll delve into the numerous benefits of commissioning a CIA, shedding light on why it can be an indispensable step in the resource management process.

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Huia Gray

Kaupapa Taiao Specialist
Kāhu Environmental

What will the National Planning Framework look like? The Devil could be in the Detail.

28/3/2022

The draft exposure Natural and Built Environment (NBA) Bill has, understandably, attracted the most attention of the upcoming planning reforms. Even so, it's easy to overlook certain aspects.

For instance, with the NBA expected to be enacted before the end of the parliamentary term, what will the proposed National Planning Framework (NPF) look like? The draft exposure gives us the scope but not the final wording, which will be made as regulations.

For environmental professionals with experience in the UK, the name National Planning Framework probably sounds very familiar. Ten years ago, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was introduced in England.

Tim Goodall

Senior Planner
Kāhu Environmental

Risky Business: The Gamble of Rushing Reforms

17/2/2022

The NZ Government fast-tracked the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act to solve the housing crisis. These reforms require tier 1 councils to update their plans and push through increased housing density by requiring medium-density residential standards (MDRS) “across all relevant zones in the district plan except in circumstances where a qualifying matter is relevant”.¹

Similarly rushed planning reforms in the UK created as many problems as they solved.

Tim Goodall

Senior Planner
Kāhu Environmental

Room for the Rivers: The Value of Strong Visual Communication

22/12/2021

Rivers and streams that flow through farms and towns in Aotearoa are significantly degraded.¹

While we often talk about how poor water quality is for swimming, mahinga kai (food gathering), or fish life, or how much water is in a river (its flow), we forget to talk about what the river actually looks like – its physical condition – and how important that is to the health of the river.

Thomas Kay

Policy Advisor
Kāhu Environmental

Bite sized blog: Notification

19/4/2021

Welcome to the latest instalment of our bite sized blog series about the recent changes to the RMA.

The 18th of October is just around the corner. This is when a lot of the RLAA changes will kick in, including today’s special feature: Section 95 Notification. A.k.a how councils decide whether resource consent applications are:

publicly notified (everyone gets a chance to give feedback)
limited notified (a limited number of people get to give feedback)
or non-notified (public feedback isn’t necessary).

Today’s post is fairly planner-centric (including some free resources for council planners), but if you’re a Normal Person™ interested in finding out what the changes to notification might mean for you, stick with us and we’ll help you navigate the jargon.

Te Aranga Māori Cultural Landscape Principles in Planning

10/11/2017

Te Aranga Māori Cultural Landscape Principles in Planning10/11/2017
I’ve been reflecting on how to better represent Māori Cultural Values in planning following a recent Te Tau-a-Nuku / Nga Aho Māori Cultural Landscape Hui that I attended.

The hui focused on the Te Aranga Māori Cultural Landscape Principles: Mana, Whakapapa, Mauri Tu, Taiao, Mahi Toi, Tohu and Ahi Kā. While there are many principles of Tikanga Māori that can be applied to our work, I could see a lot of our projects at Perception Planning already meeting the Te Aranga principles.
I thought that this could be a good time to discuss how Te Aranga principles are being applied to planning. What are they? What are we at Perception Planning doing? What are others doing? What opportunities are there to do more? If you are working in the space of applying Te Aranga Principles to planning work, we would love to hear more examples and get more discussion going.

View from Marae on Māori ancestral land. Source: Perception Planning

Bite sized blog: Activity status

26/9/2017

Welcome to our bite sized blog series about recent changes to the RMA and what they mean for Regular People. This is a very short vocabulary post, with a Bonus Activity Status Diagram to print out and stick on your fridge (using that magnet you got from a street market in Wellington that says "It's martini o'clock!" even though I don't need reminding).

Our RMA Amendment Bill submission

15/3/2016

15 March 2016: The Government is proposing some pretty fundamental changes to the Resource Management Act with its Resource Legislation Bill. Submissions just closed on this Bill and since then there has been a bit of media, much of it pointing out how the Bill proposes to limit public participation in resource management processes and decision making.

It's blog time.

What are Cultural Impact Assessments? Why are they important?

What will the National Planning Framework look like? The Devil could be in the Detail.

Tim Goodall

Risky Business: The Gamble of Rushing Reforms

Tim Goodall

Room for the Rivers: The Value of Strong Visual Communication

Thomas Kay

Bite sized blog: Notification

Te Aranga Māori Cultural Landscape Principles in Planning

Bite sized blog: Activity status

Our RMA Amendment Bill submission

the kāhu team

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