Green Drinks - Beyond the RMA: What the new planning system means for Queenstown

New Zealand’s planning system is undergoing its biggest shake-up in decades, with the Resource Management Act being replaced by a new framework for planning and environmental management.

But what does that actually mean for Queenstown?

Join us for a special Green Drinks panel discussion that will unpack the changes in plain English and explore when our region is likely to start feeling their effects.

We’ll begin with a short overview of the new legislation from resource management experts at Anderson Lloyd, before opening up a broader panel discussion on the practical implications for Queenstown.

• We’ll look at questions including:

• What changes are likely to happen first?

• What could the new system mean for housing and development?

• How will environmental protection change?

• What will the reforms mean for Council and local planning?

• Where will the key decisions about Queenstown’s future be made?

• How can communities, businesses and individuals engage with the new system?

Speakers on the night

Maree Baker-Galloway
Maree is a partner at Anderson Lloyd and leads the Queenstown Environment and Planning team.  She advises a range of clients on the RMA, the Conservation Act and related legislation such as the Marine Reserves Act, and the implications of the reforms in all these areas.  She has particular local expertise in tourism and development projects.  Maree also specialises in natural resources issues particularly freshwater, and in that space acts for entities such as Fish and Game, Whitewater NZ and different iwi entities. Green/sustainable building is a particular area of interest for Maree – and her family built a certified passive house when they moved to Queenstown from Dunedin.  Maree was previously president of the Resource Management Law Association, and co-authored the legal text used in universities on the RMA 'Focus on Resource Management Law'.

Hannah Zyenbos

Hannah is a solicitor in Anderson Lloyd’s Environment and Planning team, based in Queenstown. Before joining Anderson Lloyd in early 2025, she worked in QLDC’s resource consents planning team. Her work includes advising landowners, developers, businesses and infrastructure providers on resource consents, district and regional planning matters, property due diligence, and the ongoing resource management reforms, mainly in the Queenstown Lakes District area. Outside work, Hannah enjoys mountain biking, tramping, skiing, running, and climbing. Spending time in the outdoors has fuelled her interest in environmental law and in how planning decisions shape the places in which people live, work and recreate.

Alyson Hutton - QLDC - Manager of Planning Policy

Alyson Hutton is Manager Planning Policy at Queenstown Lakes District Council and has spent 25 years working in planning. After starting her career in the Bay of Plenty and Wellington, Alyson moved to Queenstown, where she has worked both at the Council and as a planning consultant.

Alyson’s experience covers district plan policy, consultation and consenting. As a consultant, her work included private plan changes, subdivision and development consents, and providing resource management advice for projects in the Queenstown Lakes District and around New Zealand.

At Queenstown Lakes District Council, Alyson leads a team of policy planners progressing the District Plan Review under the Resource Management Act and preparing the district for the land-use planning requirements arising from resource management reform.

Ailsa Cain - ā-Rautaki - Cultural Heritage and Environmental Policy

Ailsa Cain (Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu)Strategy and Policy practitioner for ā-Rautaki who focuses on upholding Treaty Settlements and continuation of cultural practices and connection with place.

Matthew Day - Remarkable Parks LTD - COO

You don’t need to know anything about the RMA or planning law to come along. The aim is to make a complex subject accessible, practical and relevant to anyone interested in how Queenstown grows and how our natural environment is protected.

Ticket price includes networking drinks and nibbles.

Whether you work in development, tourism, planning, sustainability, local government, business, or you simply want to understand what these reforms could mean for the place you live, this conversation is for you.

Green Drinks is proudly presented by Sustainable Queenstown, with support from Anderson Lloyd.

Thanks to the Queenstown Lakes District Council for helping to make these events happen.