Is discretion a problem or a problem-solver?

There is a common thread across all the projects that I’m working on at the moment – the role of discretion in resource management decision-making.

And these projects I’m referring to include central government policy making, regional council plan making, consent decision-making and frontline compliance officer decision-making.

Discretionary calls made by people sit everywhere in the resource management system, and the appetite for discretion is a curious beast.

In the space of one day last week I heard:

The conversations I had ebbed and flowed between seeing discretion as a dirty word through to it being the saviour of all our resource management problems – for both regulators and those being regulated.

What does this reinforce for me?

• We need to be deliberate about where discretion is applied in the resource management system.

• We need to know what the trade-offs of discretion vs prescription are when it comes to our resource management law, policy and plan making.

• These trade-offs need to consider both those acting as implementers and those being regulated.

The exercising of good discretion and judgement doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a skill set; it has to be learnt. We often learn by doing, but that’s a high stakes approach if we want to try and get things right at the outset.

People who are exercising discretion in all parts of the resource management system need to be supported by good guidance and training and be held accountable for the decisions they make. Investment in this kind of support is key.

Amanda de Jong – June 2024