RMA reform not for the ‘vexatious Tom, Dick and Harry’ types

Friday, 20 September 2024

Two new laws will replace the RMA - one to manage environmental effects, another to manage development.

The Government has released details of what will replace the three decade-old Resource Management Act ‒ it’s promised to steer away from precautionary approaches and “absurd bespokism”.

Two new laws will be developed to replace the act, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop announced on Friday. One will manage environmental effects and another will enable urban development and infrastructure.

Bishop said the scope of the system would be narrowed to focus on effects on the environment and that national standards would reduce the need for resource consents and simplify council plans.

Focus would be shifted away from consenting and towards compliance, monitoring and enforcement.

A new $26 million infrastructure agency will be in place by the end of the year and the government is developing a 30-year pipeline of infrastructure projects, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has revealed.

There would be one regulatory plan per region, jointly prepared by regional and district councils, and a quick resolutions system between neighbours and property owners/councils ‒ possibly a new planning tribunal.

“The RMA has hindered economic growth and productivity, whilst failing to improve the environment,” Bishop said.

“In this RMA Reform programme, we’ve … developed a one-stop-shop fast-track consenting regime and announced a raft of ‘quick fixes’ to the interim RMA and national direction through Phase Two, and now we’re turning to replacing the RMA in Phase Three.”

Parliamentary under-secretary Simon Court said putting property rights at the centre of resource management meant ditching rules that “invite every Tom, Dick and Harry to vexatiously object to peaceful use and development of private property”.

“Rules should only restrict activity with material spillover effects on other people’s enjoyment of their own property, or on the property rights of the wider natural environment that sustains us.

“Empowering Kiwis to take a punt and invest time, care, and capital into their land is how we open the door to prosperity. Whether it’s building a backyard retaining wall or replacing an old bridge on a state highway, we must shift from precautionary to permissive, and get rid of the absurd bespokism of navigating new consents and conditions for things we’ve done many times before.”

An expert advisory group will work alongside officials at the Ministry for the Environment and other agencies to develop the new system.

Key aspects of the new system will go to Cabinet for agreement before the end of the year, and legislation will be introduced and passed before the next election.