The Motiti decision: Implications for coastal management

Abstract

The recent Court of Appeal decision in Attorney-General v The Trustees of the Motiti Rohe Moana Trust ([2019] NZCA 532) has wide-ranging implications for managing the sustained pressures on biodiversity in coastal ecosystems. The Motiti decision signals a profound change in the way in which regional councils will need to manage the territorial sea. In this article, I explore some of the implications of the decision for environmental management, in light of the recent public notice of decisions on the proposed Marlborough Environment Plan (MEP) by the Marlborough District Council on 21 February 2020.