Buzz from the Beehive
A triumvirate of ministers – holding the Agriculture, Environment and RMA Reform portfolios – has announced the introduction of legislation “to slash the tangle of red and green tape throttling development in key sectors”, such as farming, mining and other primary industries.
The exact name of the bill? Point of Order confesses to being puzzled.
Early in the press statement, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says “Resource Management (RM) Bill 1” proposes targeted changes that can take effect quickly and give certainty to councils and consent applicants, while the Government develops new legislation to replace the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
At the end of the statement, we are told:
The Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill will be sent to the Primary Production Select Committee for consideration after its first reading next week.
Maybe we tried to digest it too fast and missed something vital.
The announcement can be found on the government’s official website along with a pre-Budget speech delivered by Finance Minister Nicola Willis.
Latest from the Beehive
Release
23 MAY 2024
First RMA amendment Bill introduced to Parliament
The coalition Government has today introduced legislation to slash the tangle of red and green tape throttling some of New Zealand’s key sectors, including farming, mining and other primary industries.
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In the statement about the RMA reform bill, Chris Bishop said:
“The Government is delivering on its plan to reform the resource management system in three phases. Introducing this Bill today also achieves two of our Q2 Action Plan for New Zealand targets: introducing legislation that clarifies the application of the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management and suspends the requirement on councils to identify and adopt new Significant Natural Areas,” Mr Bishop says.
“It also achieves several commitments in the National-ACT coalition agreement.
“We repealed the Natural and Built Environment Act and Spatial Planning Act in December as part of Phase One.
“Phase Two began when the Government introduced the Fast-track Approvals Bill in March. This phase includes RM Bill 1, the first of two bills that propose targeted changes to the resource management system.
“We also plan to amend or develop new RMA national direction as part of Phase Two. This will make it easier to consent new infrastructure, get more houses built and it will enhance the primary sector.
“In Phase Three, the Government intends to replace the RMA with new resource management legislation.
“This will be based on the enjoyment of property rights, while ensuring good environmental outcomes.”
Whatever the Bill is called, the changes proposed will:
- Exclude the hierarchy of obligations in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) from resource consenting. This will address concerns raised about the way it is being applied while a review and replacement of the NPS-FM is undertaken.
- Repeal the contentious low slope map and associated requirements from stock exclusion regulations, reducing costs for farmers.
- Repeal the permitted and restricted discretionary activity regulations and associated conditions for intensive winter grazing from the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-F).
- Align the provisions for coal mining with other mineral extraction activities under the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPS-IB), NPS-FM and NES-F.
- Suspend for three years requirements under the NPS-IB for councils to identify new Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) and include them in district plans. The Bill also extends some SNA implementation timeframes to 31 December 2030.
- Speed up and simplify the process for preparing and amending national direction, including national environmental standards, national planning standards, national policy statements and the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement.
Point of Order 