The District Plan provides the means for the Council and residents of Matamata-Piako District to achieve integrated management of the effects of the use, development and protection of the natural and physical resources within the District.

The Plan is written under the provisions of the Resource Management Act 1991, in accordance with the Council’s functions in Section 31 and duties in Section 32, to meet the purpose of that Act.

The purpose of the Resource Management Act is “to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources” [s.5(1)].

Under the Act “sustainable management means managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural wellbeing and for their health and safety while -

1. Sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources (excluding minerals) to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; and
2. Safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil and ecosystems; and
3. Avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment” [s.5(2)].

In achieving the purpose of the Act, “all persons exercising functions and powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources, shall recognise and provide for the following matters of national importance:

1. The preservation of the natural character of the coastal environment (including the coastal marine area), wetlands, and lakes and rivers and their margins, and the protection of them from inappropriate subdivision, use, and development;
2. The protection of outstanding natural features and landscapes from inappropriate subdivision, use, and developments;
3. The protection of areas of significant indigenous vegetation and significant habitats of indigenous fauna;
4. The maintenance and enhancement of public access to and along the coastal marine area, lakes, and rivers;
5. The relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, water, sites, waahi tapu, and other taonga” [s.6].

In achieving the purpose of the Act, “all persons exercising functions and powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources, shall have particular regard to -

1. Kaitiakitanga;
2. The efficient use and development of natural and physical resources;
3. The maintenance and enhancement of amenity values;
4. Intrinsic values of ecosystems;
5. Recognition and protection of the heritage values of sites, buildings, places, or areas;
6. Maintenance and enhancement of the quality of the environment;
7. Any finite characteristics of natural and physical resources;
8. The protection of the habitat of trout and salmon” [s.7].

In achieving the purpose of the Act, “all persons exercising functions and powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources, shall take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi)” [s.8].

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