Upper Clutha Environment Society spokesman Julian Haworth said the changes to section 95A of the Resource Management Act brought in by the previous National government and which came into force on October 18 were ''draconian'' and would allow ''obtrusive developments to get consent''.
Queenstown Lakes District Council communications and engagement manager Naell Crosby-Roe confirmed a consequence of the recent amendments was that the wider public would not be able to comment on certain types of applications, including discretionary rural general subdivisions.
Only very limited notification grounds were included in the legislation and it also removed appeal rights.
''The council can also decline such a subdivision application and there are no appeal rights for the applicant.''
Mr Haworth said the upshot was that knowledgeable local people or groups would no longer be able to submit on rural subdivision applications.
''There will be a total loss of the checks and balances afforded by public notification.''
Over the past 22 years, there were many examples where the society's submissions had made an impact or had lessened the effects of applications, he said.
''Even if we don't get developments stopped we get them changed so they fit in much better into the environment.''
It was not just the society that submitted on RMA applications.
''A lot of other people do; for example, the application to build a golf course at Glendhu Bay had about 100 submitters in opposition and that would not be publicly notified now.''
Queenstown lawyer and resource management specialist Graeme Todd said he had concerns about the amendments to the Act.
They represented a significant change ''from what we've been used to in this area for the last 40 years''.
Under the old Act, the council gave public notification of a resource consent application to subdivide a rural area for residential development.
Under the amendment, the QLDC was only required to give limited notification.
Limited notification would ''definitely'' include neighbours, but the limitations could be different on each application.
''We just don't know what limited notification means.''
Conversely, if someone thought they were going to be affected and had not been notified they could challenge that notification decision by going to the High Court for an application for judicial review, but that was an expensive process that took a lot of time.
He was also worried about council planning staff determining and processing the applications in-house without a hearing and with no right of appeal to the Environment Court, Mr Todd said.
It would probably involve ''a lot more work at the front end''.
''Up until now they have been the subject of hearings before independent commissioners, but now you are going to want to make sure that the [QLDC planning] person who is going to determine the application is aware of all relevant information, so you are effectively going to have to prepare legal submissions and evidence to submit with the application.''
''Normally we get to respond to the council officer who has concerns or makes a recommendation to the hearings panel. Are we going to have such a report in the future or are the council staff going to file a report to themselves?''
''We're only learning by dribs and drabs as to how these applications are going to be dealt with in the future.''
Mr Haworth said the only solution was for the QLDC to adopt a plan change where all rural subdivisions became non-complying.
Mr Todd said that suggestion was already before the council's independent commissioners hearing submissions on changes to the proposed district plan.
Mr Crosby-Roe said the QLDC submitted on the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill at the time and raised concerns about the proposal to exclude notification of subdivisions but the council was required to administer the Act as amended by Parliament.
He said a variation in the proposed district plan for the Wakatipu Basin was about to be notified and decisions on submissions to the plan were due out in the first quarter of 2018, at which time the new rules have legal effect.
