In previous articles (here and here) we outlined the proposed reform of the resource management system which involves three new bills:
The Natural and Built Environment Bill (“NBE Bill”) which is the main replacement for the RMA.
The Spatial Planning Bill which requires the development of long-term regional spatial strategies intended to help coordinate and integrate planning decisions.
The proposed Climate Adaptation Bill which is intended to address complex issues associated with managed retreat, and funding and financing climate adaptation, has not yet been introduced.
Select Committee hearings on the NBE Bill and Spatial Planning Bill have now finished, and the Government is pushing ahead with enacting the legislation to transform the way we manage the environment. This article briefly recaps where things are at, and where they are heading.
Where are we at?
Following the introduction and first readings of the Bills in November 2022, the Select Committee process began. Written submissions were due, and hearings began, earlier this year.
Large numbers of submitters presented the full spectrum of views on the reform in written submissions and in oral hearings before the Environment Select Committee (or sub-committees). This included wide-ranging, fundamental, and robust criticism of the reforms from a range of “green” and “pro-development” groups. Key contentious issues included:
Whether the reform will deliver the simpler, faster, and cheaper resource management system promised.
The major centralisation of power and decision making.
The competing priorities in the NBE Bill’s system outcomes.
The potential stifling of business certainty/confidence, including through increased scope for consents to be reviewed and cancelled and for existing use rights to be extinguished, and also through mandatory short term water consents.
The approach to “bottom line” environmental limits and targets.
Places of national importance provisions (e.g. “Significant Biodiversity Areas”) which effectively act as prohibitions on development.
The operation and application of the effects management framework.
Resource allocation issues.
Various new consenting processes, including new notification tests and new provisions regarding the consideration of applications.
The proposed broader compliance, monitoring, and enforcement regimes, with increased penalties.
Transitional provisions, which are incomplete and uncertain in places.
ChanceryGreen assisted several major infrastructure/energy clients to prepare submissions on the NBE Bill.
The Environment Committee has recently finished hearing oral submissions on the proposed Bills.
Where to from here?
The Environment Committee’s report on the reform is due on 6 June 2023. This is a very tight timeframe in the context of the introduction of the Bills in November 2022 and the scale and complexity of the proposed legislation. Given the range and nature of the issues raised during the Select Committee hearing process, we expect the Committee will recommend material changes to the Bills.
Notwithstanding the often-trenchant feedback on the Bills to date, the Government has given no indications that it is seriously considering delaying the proposed enactment of the reform or shelving it entirely. The expectation is still that the Government will enact the NBE Bill and Spatial Planning Bill later this year before the October 2023 election. Having said that, anything is possible, especially given the current political context and the Government’s recent policy resets.
The Climate Adaptation Bill is expected to be introduced later this year.
ChanceryGreen will continue to closely monitor the progress of the reforms. Look out for further updates, or feel free to get in touch with the team.