Sidwell v Thames-Coromandel District Council [2020] NZEnvC 124
The Environment Court has recently considered an application for a declaration seeking confirmation that a Council may use its power under section 37 of the RMA to waive and extend the time limits expressed under section 125 of the RMA for the lapse date of resource consents.
Trilane Industries Ltd v Queenstown Lakes District Council [2020] NZHC 1647
The High Court has recently confirmed that a consent authority cannot ignore temporary effects in undertaking its notification assessment on the grounds those effects will be ameliorated in a relatively short timeframe having regard to the life span of the proposed activity. This is in circumstances where the Council essentially bundled its assessment of temporary adverse effects with eventual mitigation of those effects, to reach the view that effects on landscape and amenity were minor. In taking this approach, the Court held that the Council erred in law.
That parents provide for their children is inherent in the parent-child relationship, and sometimes continues even as children reach adulthood. Parents with more than one adult child must often assess the merits of helping children at different times and in different ways, with outcomes that cannot be readily equalised or compared. These considerations may be at the forefront of your mind when making a will. In the High Court case of Ware v Reid & Ors [2019] NZHC 506 Dunningham J addressed this issue where the four adult children of a farming couple had each been helped into farm ownership during their parents’ lifetimes. The parents then sought to equalise this financial assistance as between their children in their respective wills.
New Zealand law on trusts and their operation is changing. These law changes will take effect from 30 January 2021, when the Trusts Act 2019 comes into force. The new Act will repeal the Trustee Act 1956, under which most existing trusts have been settled.
The changes will apply to both existing and future trusts, and will affect those in the roles of settlors, trustees and beneficiaries. The changes are intended to simplify trust law and make it more accessible.
The COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020 (Act) came into effect on 9 July. It is intended to accelerate the beginning of work on a range of projects and support certainty of ongoing employment and investment across New Zealand.
In Waikato Regional Council v Matamata-Piako District Council [2020] NZDC 7135 Judge Harland has issued a warning to territorial authorities about the likelihood increased fines for future unlawful discharges. She also sets out several proactive management measures that territorial authorities should be undertaking in respect of their infrastructure.
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