Introducing Emily Grace - New Policy Advisor Joins

Emily Grace has joined the team at the New Zealand Planning Institute I Te Kokiringa Taumata as Principal Policy Advisor.

She was formerly Principal Planner at Queenstown Lakes District Council and has over 15 years’ experience in planning. Prior to working in Queenstown, Emily worked at GNS Science, researching how land use planning could be used to manage risks from natural hazards and climate change.

Highly skilled in resource consenting, policy development and planning research Emily is also called upon as an expert witness.

Planning Focus talks to Emily about her life and background.

You’re not actually qualified in planning are you? Yet you’ve worked as a planner

True. I did law at University, and geography. I had a strong interest in environmental management, and became a planner by accident. The first job I got was planning, in a small team at Porirua City Council, where I learnt a lot from some very talented people and found I really enjoyed planning. And now I’m in a role where I get to work on national level direction and legislative reform on behalf of NZPI members, which is a pretty cool place to end up.

You did work early on with the Defence force. That would have been interesting.

Sure was. I provided regional and district policy advice to them and was an expert witness in a few plan processes. They’re a national organisation and the RMA applies to them. Of course, they do an unusual range of activities - they have training ranges, they discharge firearms and make noise. So they interact with planning regulations. For example they have a base in Papakura which used to be out in the country and is now encroached by the city. So in the course of working for them, I learnt a lot about noise and reverse sensitivity.

You worked for Tonkin & Taylor as a planner, and after that for GNS Science at Avalon. What research did you do there?

It was research on natural hazards planning. Our most significant work was on managed retreat and how that might work under the RMA, particularly with regards ‘existing use’ rights. Existing use rights exist where you’re already doing something that’s legal, and so you can continue to do it. If you think about managed retreat, if you change District Plan rules, that won’t have an impact on existing use rights. It’s a curly issue.

Will the new legislation change existing use rights?

It’s not clear. Government is still working through the policy implications of this. It will be transformative legislation because as yet the tools don’t exist to deal with existing use rights in the face of climate change.

After that you went to Queenstown Lakes District Council, didn’t you?

Yes. While there I learnt a lot about outstanding natural landscapes. 97% of the district administered by the Council is classified as outstanding natural landscape. With a lot of pressure for development, that causes conflicts, and Queenstown being a very litigious place, there were a lot of appeals to deal with.

You’re based in Queenstown still, aren’t you?

Yes. My husband is a hydrologist and loves big rivers! He works for the Otago Regional Council. We have two children (11 and 6) and we’re an outdoor family. We love the mountains, and we ski. The Kawarau River is close to where we live. The kids walk/bike/scooter to school. It’s fantastic.