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The Fast-Track Approvals Bill has been introduced to Parliament. Forming part of the coalition Government’s 100-day plan, the Bill seeks to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects with significant regional or national benefits.
The new government has committed to repealing the NBEA and SPA by Christmas, temporarily reinstating an amended version of the RMA. For the foreseeable future it will therefore be back to the RMA, which was broadly panned by all major political parties… But not for long. The RMA’s resuscitation will be short-lived, with the government promising to deliver a wider package of resource management reform.
The mosaic of national policy statements is set to increase further with the release of the proposed National Policy Statement for Natural Hazard Decision-making (“NPS-NHD”). The NPS-NHD is the first of two stages in a phased work programme aimed at improving the management of natural hazard risks. The second stage involves comprehensive National Direction for National Hazards.
The Supreme Court recently issued its judgment in Port Otago Ltd v Environmental Defence Society Inc. The decision builds on recent High Court discussion of the relative weighting of directive plan provisions. In broad terms, the decision concludes:
that the directive enabling ports policy in the NZCPS (Policy 9) should be considered alongside the NZCPS avoidance policies (Policies 11, 13, 15, and 16, requiring certain adverse effects of activities to be avoided); and
that where there is conflict between those enabling and avoidance policies, it may be appropriate for a project to proceed, where the project is required to ensure the safe and efficient operation of ports.
The Natural and Built Environment Act (“NBEA”) and Spatial Planning Act (“SPA”) received Royal Assent on 23 August 2023, formally passing them into law. This marks the end of an intensive and controversial legislative process, and the beginning of the Acts as reality – requiring all system users to grapple with their implementation.
The Environment Select Committee has released its reports on the Natural and Built Environment Bill (“NBE Bill”) and the Spatial Planning Bill. While plenty will be said about the detail of the Bills in the coming period, in this article we set out our high-level observations on the Select Committee’s recommendations.