Direction for natural hazards being developed
The Government is progressing regulation to direct councils on how to manage the risks from floods, landslides and other natural hazards.
New national direction is being developed to provide direction to councils on natural hazards such as floods and landslides when planning for new land use activities.
Development in high-risk areas without appropriate steps to address natural hazards can pose a risk to lives, businesses and homes. This can leave communities, insurers, councils and government facing costs for repairs and recovery.
The Government has decided to progress national direction for natural hazards through a single instrument, to be in place by mid-2025.
This is expected to provide direction to councils on how to identify natural hazards, assess the risks, and respond through their planning and consenting.
This approach is being progressed instead of the previously proposed two-phase approach which the Ministry of the Environment consulted on last year, and will allow for alignment with the Government’s Resource Management Act reform programme.
The new National Direction for Natural Hazards will be advanced through phase two of the RMA reform programme, which includes changes to national direction instruments.
We received 102 submissions during the consultation, including from local government, iwi and rūnanga, Māori organisations, infrastructure, development, construction and engineering companies, and insurance and banking groups.
Overall, there was support for the intention of the proposals, some submitters considered that it would be more workable to make changes once rather than repeatedly.