Overview of the resource management reforms
The Government plans to repeal the Resource Management Act 1991(RMA) and replace it with three new pieces of legislation.
The Government plans to repeal the Resource Management Act 1991(RMA) and replace it with three new pieces of legislation.
The resource management system reform programme: What does this mean for Aotearoa?
The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) has not delivered on its desired environmental or development outcomes nor have RMA decisions consistently given effect to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti).
Current processes take too long, cost too much and will not address the many new challenges facing our environment and our communities.
New Zealand needs a resource management (RM) system that will manage these challenges more effectively for current and future generations.
In February 2021, the Government announced it would repeal the RMA and enact new legislation based on the recommendations of the Resource Management Review Panel. The three proposed acts are:
The three proposed new pieces of legislation to replace the RMA are as follows.
The proposed Natural and Built Environments Act (NBA) is intended to be the primary piece of legislation to replace the RMA. Like the RMA, the National and Built Environments Act will be an integrated statute for land use and environmental protection. It will work in tandem with the proposed Strategic Planning Act (SPA).
The Act sets out how the environment will be protected and enhanced in the future system, ensuring people and communities use the environment in a way that not only supports their well-being but that of future generations.
This would be achieved by:
The NBA will also improve recognition of te ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This includes reference to Te Oranga o te Taiao in the Act’s purpose. This concept is intended to encapsulate the intergenerational importance of the health and well-being of the natural environment. Decision-makers would be required ‘to give effect to’ the principles of Te Tiriti, replacing the current RMA requirement to ‘take into account’ those principles.
Under the Act, central government’s proposed new National Planning Framework will provide a set of mandatory national policies and standards on specified aspects of the new system. These will include natural environmental limits, outcomes and targets.
Read the exposure draft of the NBA.
The Strategic Planning Act provides a strategic and long-term approach to how we plan for using land and the coastal marine area.
Long-term spatial strategies in each region will be developed to identify areas that:
The regional strategies will enable more efficient land and development markets to improve housing supply, affordability and choice, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The Government has established a new interdepartmental executive board, the Strategic Planning Reform Board, to oversee the development of the Act. This is as part of the wider resource management reforms.
It will be only the second interdepartmental Executive Board established under the Public Service Act 2020.
Read more about the Strategic planning board.
This Act will support New Zealand’s response to the effects of climate change. It will address the complex legal and technical issues associated with managed retreat and funding and financing adaptation.
Together this suite of legislation will:
The reform is based on the findings of the comprehensive review of the resource management system which were released last year. The review was carried out by the independent Resource Management Review Panel led by Hon Tony Randerson, QC. It is the most significant, broad-ranging and inclusive review of the resource management system since the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) was enacted.
Read the Panel’s report New Directions for Resource Management in New Zealand.