Resource Management

The potential and the inherent limits of renewable sources of energy - Paper presented at the NZ Resource Management Law Association Conference held on October 2nd 2004 

Concerns about rising CO2 levels as a result of fossil fuel use and security of supply have caused renewed interest in renewable sources of energy. Access to renewable energy sources varies depending on regional conditions including latitude, topography and the hydrological cycle. As a result the overall potential of renewable energy, is often left undetermined. This paper, drawing on recent work by Smil (2004), seeks to describe the potential – and inherent limits – of renewable sources of energy at the global level and then, drawing on estimates by Sims, describe the potentials available in New Zealand. It then proceeds to discuss barriers to significant market penetration by renewable energy sources in respect of electricity generation and transport. Reference is made to recent work commissioned by the OECD Round Table on Sustainable Development and the results of the recent Mobility Project undertaken by members of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development. Full text (pdf format)

Simon Upton, Gerard Willis and Helen Atkins respond - at length - to the conjectures of two Lincoln-based lecturers on the genesis and meaning of section 5 of the Resource Management Act. An anlysis of the genesis of the provision and its subsequent interpretation by the courts. Appeared first in Resource Management Journal November 2002. Full text

The Stace Hammond Grace Lecture: Purpose and Principle in the Resource Management Act

This is the very first occasion on which I have set foot in the Waikato University Law School. As some of you will be aware, I was one of the most outspoken opponents of the establishment of the School. In the circumstances, it was only reasonable that the Law School should avoid beating a path to my door! But since my objections were no match for the University's persistence, it was inevitable that I should have to come, some day, and do penance. You can imagine, then, my pleasure at receiving the call to confession from my old employers, Stace, Hammond, Grace & Partners; and being granted the indulgence of preaching on a topic of my choosing - the one condition being that I should talk about something of practical value to the profession. Full text (pdf format)