Remembering Jim Hopkins

RMLA was saddened to learn of the death of Jim Hopkins on 27 July 2026. Jim was widely known throughout New Zealand as a broadcaster, writer, author and gifted communicator, and later as a long-serving Waitaki District Councillor. He was also remembered publicly for the wit, humour and personality he brought to his work and to the communities he served. 

Jim was a long-standing and highly valued member of RMLA who made a distinctive contribution to the Association. He was a popular and entertaining master of ceremonies at numerous RMLA conferences and a respected contributor to the Resource Management Journal. Over many years, his writing brought something unusual and important to its pages: an ability to look at the complexities, conventions and occasional absurdities of resource management through a sharply observed and warmly humorous lens.

The Journal has always been a place for serious analysis and informed debate. Jim’s contributions reminded us that seriousness of purpose does not require solemnity at every turn. His writing made room for humour without diminishing the importance of the subject. Instead, it offered readers a different way of seeing familiar processes, language and professional habits—and, perhaps, of seeing ourselves.

That quality feels especially relevant now. The profession is once again preparing to navigate substantial legislative and institutional change through the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill. There will be much to understand, interpret and debate in the months and years ahead. Jim’s writing is a timely reminder that humour can help us retain perspective, remain connected and approach change with a little more humanity.

In tribute to Jim, we are pleased to republish Old Hobbits Die Hard, which first appeared in the November 2010 edition of the Resource Management Journal (pg38). Through hobbits, elves, planning terminology and an “environmentally subterranean context”, the piece gently satirises the language and machinery of resource consenting.

It remains recognisable, affectionate and very funny. We hope readers enjoy revisiting it—and remember, as Jim so often demonstrated, that even in periods of serious reform, there should still be room to laugh.