Title: Does Practice Make Perfect? Debate about Principles versus Practice in New Zealand Local Government Planning
Abstract: Legislation and practice are two arms of public policy planning. Legislation empowers or enables; practice is the articulation and implementation of legislative principle. In New Zealand there has been widespread debate in recent years about the relative importance of practice versus legislation in achieving planning outcomes under its key planning legislation, the Resource Management Act 1991. This paper proposes that the effectiveness and efficiency of planning practice may depend on a range of factors, some of which are beyond the control of planners, and outside of legislation. They include political priorities and the countervailing administrative responsibilities of the public agencies involved. Local government, as the agency in New Zealand which administers the Resource Management Act at local levels, is subject to a number of structural factors which may influence planning responsibilities and political and administrative commitment to those responsibilities. A survey of district council planning officers was conducted which showed great variation in the levels of work and the nature of the tasks that were assigned to planning departments within different councils. The paper concludes that the range of factors which may limit the ability of planners to implement the