PCE submission on the illustrative National Policy Direction

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has submitted on the Government's illustrative National Policy Direction (NPD) – the first look at how the goals of the recently enacted Planning Act and Natural Environment Act will be translated into the policy direction that guides decision makers.

He describes the illustrative NPD as 'a useful test of the new framework' but concludes that it does not yet fulfil the role envisaged under the legislation.

The central focus of the submission is the alignment of the illustrative NPD with the statutory purpose of National Policy Direction in the Acts. The Commissioner considers that the NPD must provide enough detail about the goals so that the outcomes sought are clear to those making decisions on plans and consents. This means that the goals, what they mean in different contexts and how they are to be achieved, need to be clearly explained.

The Commissioner also observes that conflicts between competing activities, and conflicts between those activities and public and environmental values, are not consistently identified or addressed. While accepting that trade-offs are unavoidable, where they occur, he considers that the NPD should provide clearer direction on how competing goals are to be balanced. 

Overall, the Commissioner suggests that the better the NPD can explain the goals and how they are to be achieved, and can identify and resolve conflicts, the smoother the subsequent planning processes will go.