Gary McKenzie

What does compliance look like when everything feels urgent, the rain radar becomes part of your personality, and half the district appears to be moving dirt at the same time?

This presentation shares the reality of compliance in Gisborne - where forestry, severe weather events, fragile landscapes, and remote terrain create constant operational pressure and force difficult prioritisation decisions. In an environment where almost everything can feel "high risk", the challenge becomes deciding what needs immediate attention, what can wait, and what level of risk is being consciously accepted. Sometimes compliance feels less like a carefully planned strategy and more like playing environmental whack-a-mole in gumboots.

The session reflects on the evolution of compliance practice in Gisborne - from a largely reactive, complaint-driven function with low escalation, to a more deliberate, risk-based approach that is increasingly confident in using the full range of enforcement tools available under the RMA.

A key theme is the shift in enforcement thinking. Rather than defaulting to punitive outcomes, the presentation explores how tools such as enforcement orders are being used to stop ongoing harm, drive remediation, and achieve timely environmental outcomes. It will also discuss the practical realities behind those decisions, including the legal, technical, and evidential foundations required to support robust enforcement action.

Improved outcomes have relied heavily on stronger internal relationships across council - particularly between compliance, consenting, science, legal, and technical teams. Better collaboration has improved the quality of consent conditions, strengthened evidence gathering, and increased confidence in decision-making when responding to complex issues on the ground. Put simply: compliance works better when the silos come down and people actually talk to each other before things catch fire - sometimes literally.

The presentation also reflects honestly on the pressures facing modern compliance teams. Effective enforcement increasingly relies on specialist expertise, legal support, and technical assessment, placing growing strain on already stretched budgets and people. It will explore what happens when workloads consistently exceed capacity, and how teams attempt to remain focused on the issues that matter most.

Finally, the session highlights the importance of relationships beyond council boundaries, including national forums such as the Compliance and Enforcement Special Interest Group, in sharing lessons, building capability, and creating greater consistency across the sector.

This is not a presentation about theory or perfect systems. It is a practical and honest account of compliance under pressure - the difficult calls, the lessons learned, the occasional scars earned along the way, and the gradual shift toward a more mature, confident, and risk-focused compliance culture.