Advice on the Compliance and Enforcement Strategy

To: Penny Nelson, Director-General of Conservation
Date: 8 March 2022

At the February meeting of the New Zealand Conservation Authority / Te Pou Atawhai Taiao o Aotearoa (Authority), members engaged in an excellent discussion with John Wallwork, National Compliance Manager at the Department, on compliance issues and enforcement by warranted rangers around Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Authority was pleased to hear of the increased capacity of the National Compliance Team, however, they noted concern around continued capacity to maintain these resources and the need for better national co-ordination to allow such a team to succeed.  

Compliance and enforcement at the Department is managed differently in each region, with the percentage of time a warranted ranger spends on compliance work being determined differently under regional management.

In an environment of increasing non-compliance, the Authority determined a need not only to maintain the current number of warranted rangers, but also for the Department to ensure there are rangers that are solely dedicated to compliance work within the Operations regions. This will ensure employment of those suitably qualified in enforcement, and thus the safety of Department staff, and to enable a nationally led enforcement strategy to be effective.

The Authority recommends that suitable continued funding and resource will be crucial to maintain and improve on the Department’s increased efforts in this space.

No reira
E noho ora mai

Edward Ellison ONZM
Chairperson NZCA