David Parker, the environment minister, spoke at the Local Government New Zealand Rural and Provincial Forum.
Good morning
It is nice to be here today to discuss RM reform, recognising that you are the key implementers of the current and future systems.
I would especially like to thank the Local Government Steering Group, chaired by Toby Adams. Over the last year or so they have provided valued, robust, and independent advice. We have listened to what they have to say, particularly on local voice and agree with their advice. It is one of the most, if not most, important role of councillors and mayors.
Officials are continuing to work with the Steering Group. As we transition to implementation, the Steering Group will continue to play an important role.
This forum is a good opportunity to update you on progress, so thank you for this opportunity.
Over the last fifteen months we have considered the detail of changes to our resource management system recommended by Hon Tony Randerson QC and the expert review panel in their 2020 report. The Panel’s work in turn built on work done by others in civil society over the years, including reports from Local Government New Zealand, the Productivity Commission, the Environmental Defence Society, the Property Council, Northern EMA, Infrastructure New Zealand, and the Waitangi Tribunal.
There is a broad consensus that after 30 years as our cornerstone environmental and development legislation, the RMA is not working as intended.
You may have heard me say the current system takes too long, and costs too much. It has neither adequately protected the natural environment, nor enabled housing development where needed. It has delayed growth, increasing the costs of other investments. Implementation has sometimes been poor.
In the 2020 election we campaigned on implementing the Randerson Report. In February 2021, we confirmed we would repeal the RMA and enact replacement laws to achieve better outcomes for both our natural and built environments.
A Ministerial Oversight Group was convened with delegations from Cabinet to make decisions on the policy. It has been a huge task.
For the last 15 months a group of up to 14 Ministers has met every few weeks to review advice and make decisions on multiple policy papers. Essentially there were 17 cabinet papers containing more than 1000 policy recommendations. We are now considering the ever more detailed subsidiary decisions needed for unambiguous instructions to be given to those who are drafting the laws.
We intend to introduce the Natural and Built Environments Bill and the Spatial Planning Bill to Parliament in the 4th quarter of this year. The third Bill, the Climate Adaptation Bill, will be introduced in 2023.
Our focus is now shifting from development to implementation of the future system. Recent Budget funding has reinforced this.
We have learned from the past. The poor implementation of the RMA at the start almost guaranteed its failure.
Back in 1991, there was a lack of national direction on both environmental and development issues. There were no standard or model plans, or even model formats. There were years of delay for new plans, made worse by an underfunded Environment Court. The system then failed to respond to new challenges and opportunities, including cumulative effects like water pollution and shortage of house-building opportunities which have driven land prices sky high.
Our reforms will make the system more efficient by ensuring earlier strategic planning and consolidated plans across each region. Decisions at each level will be better supported by the planning hierarchy with a greater number of permitted activities, less re-litigation of underlying planning issues and fewer consents.
Reforming the resource management system is a Government priority and we have committed to repealing the RMA and enacting the Natural and Built Environments Act and Spatial Planning Act this parliamentary term.
Over the next few months, before the Bills are introduced, I will talk in more detail about the future system. Today, I will give you an overview, starting with the National Planning Framework.
National direction supports local decision-making by providing consistent direction on priority issues of national importance. Currently, national direction is provided by National Policy Statements, National Environmental Standards, National Planning Standards and regulations under section 360 of the Resource Management Act – 23 documents in all if you include the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement.
These 23 documents will be consolidated into a single, comprehensive framework called the National Planning Framework (NPF). This will provide direction and guidance to those developing Regional Spatial Strategies (RSSs) and Natural and Built Environments Act (NBA) plans. This was a crucial, but missing ingredient when the RMA was implemented and we will start the new system a decade ahead.
We are transitioning existing national direction into the National Planning Framework, filling gaps where needed.
There is a perception that RMA processes are – in the Randerson Review Panel’s words – “…overly cumbersome and provide insufficient certainty for major infrastructure…”. The time taken to reach a decision on consent applications for infrastructure projects has increased by 150% for consents issued between 2010-14 compared to 2015-19 according to a report to the Infrastructure Commission.
We want the National Planning Framework to help decomplicate these issues for the benefit of local government, central government and the private sector.
The NPF will include infrastructure content which will provide much needed direction to regions on how to plan for and enable infrastructure in the Regional Spatial Strategies and Natural and Built Environment Act plans and resolve conflicts that arise.
The infrastructure chapter is expected to include a suite of nationally consistent planning and technical standards for infrastructure that should be used in all plans and for consenting decisions. For example, the chapter may list standards for erosion and sediment control. Councils will state which standard must be used but the need to have conditions in applications and consents will be avoided. We are working with the Infrastructure Commission (Te Waihanga) on this new infrastructure chapter to ensure it is robust and workable.
This will build on the Government’s moves to accelerate housing provision, and the infrastructure that supports it.
Spatial Planning Act
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The SPA will enable and require long-term spatial planning at the regional level through the development of Regional Spatial Strategies (RSSs). RSSs will integrate planning across different legislative frameworks associated with the management of the natural and built environments. An obvious example is transport planning which needs early integration with land-use planning.
This is the first time there will be a mandatory spatial function across all regions in New Zealand. We have learned from those councils that have a spatial function in place.
Regional Spatial Strategies will see central government, local government, Māori and the private sector, work together to identify how their region will grow, adapt and change over the next 30-plus years.
Each RSS will provide long-term, strategic direction for integrated planning in the region, focusing on the big issues and opportunities facing the region. They will set out a vision, and objectives, to guide the region over the next 30 plus years, and be accompanied by a set of priority actions that will help to turn the vision into reality.
RSSs, for example, will identify areas appropriate for development, areas that should be protected or restored, and areas that are subject to constraints, such as sea level rise and other natural hazards. Transport and infrastructure corridors will be identified.
RSSs will provide direction for NBA plans and local authority transport and funding plans, and will inform central government investment decisions. Delivery of the RSS will be supported by implementation plans which provide direction to decision-makers. With greater emphasis on planning up front, and stronger, plans there will be greater clarity on what is permitted and what is not in the NBA plans. This will flow through to fewer decisions needing to be made at the consenting level.
Natural and Built Environments Act plans
Natural and Built Environments Act plans are combined plans covering both resource allocation and land use for a region. Over 100 regional policy statements and regional and district plans will be consolidated into around 14 plans, simplifying and improving the integration of the system.
There will be stronger guidance on consenting activity categories in the Natural and Built Environments Act to improve consistency for users and greater clarity on what is notified and to whom. NBA plans will be guided by both the National Planning Framework and the relevant Regional Spatial Strategy.
The process will be efficient and robust. It is designed to incentivise participants to provide their input at the earliest stages of plan development.
The Natural and Built Environments Act plan development process has an emphasis on early collaboration and comprehensive policy development, and a shift away from time consuming and costly appeals.
In a process similar to the Auckland Unitary Plan, Independent Hearing Panels (IHPs) will be appointed to consider submissions against the draft plan. If the joint committee accepts the recommendation, appeals will be limited to points of law.
The compliance, monitoring and enforcement regime will be in place upon enactment of the NBA with institutional arrangement developed in the next parliamentary term. The Natural and Built Environments Act will better enable regulators in local government to execute this role more effectively through enhanced cost-recovery provisions, higher maximum fines, a civil-enforcement regime, and a stronger ability to prevent environmental harm before it occurs and to stop it getting worse.
Role of local government
Local government will lead the new system with help from central government. Local government will control the development of plans through the joint committees and will continue to be responsible for consenting and for compliance, monitoring and enforcement.
Local government will control secretariat arrangements and will be responsible for ensuring that local voice is represented in the system through tools such as Statements of Community Outcome and other local community plans.
The Local Government Steering Group’s advice on local voice has been particularly valuable.
Local authorities and joint committees will have a responsibility to ensure that their Natural and Built Environments Act functions and processes are cost-effective. In practise this means timely, efficient, and consistent.
Consenting
The effectiveness and efficiency of consents will be aided by the National Planning Framework and Natural and Built Environments Act plans, which we intend will be better drafted than some of their counterparts in the current system.
There will be fewer resource consents than required under the RMA.
We are reducing the number of activities categories from six in the RMA to four in the future system.
When it comes to allowing a particular activity, it will be yes (that is permitted), or probably (controlled), or a maybe (discretionary) or no (prohibited).
The use of RMA mechanisms to request additional information and evidence from applicants has contributed to the major increase in costs and timeframes for consents. Past amendments to the RMA have failed to adequately address the problem, thanks to a lack of accountability mechanisms. Responsibility for efficiencies will lie with elected councils and mechanisms to ensure they have proper control of their planning departments’ activities will be made clear.
Role of central government
Central government will provide oversight of the future system, integrated national direction and will play an active role in the development of Regional Spatial Strategies.
It will have an oversight role, alongside independent bodies such as the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and the proposed national Māori entity.
Role of iwi/hapū/Māori
The RMA failed to deliver on the opportunities the legislation theoretically provided for Māori.
The future resource management system will provide a more effective role for Māori locally, regionally and nationally.
Te Oranga o te Taiao is at the heart of the reforms, capturing the intergenerational importance of the health and well-being of an interconnected environment. This is important for all New Zealanders and includes the intrinsic relationship between people and the land.
The Randerson Review Panel recommended – and the Government agrees – that any future system should give effect to the principles of Te Tiriti, better recognise Te Ao Māori and provide a clear role for hapū/iwi/Māori in decision-making.
We are not pursuing co-governance, but Māori will have participants on the joint committees that will prepare Regional Spatial Strategies and Natural and Built Environments Act plans.
The reforms will also introduce a new tool called an “Engagement Agreement” which will be a simpler way for iwi, hapū, and other Māori organisations to agree with RSS and NBA Plan joint committees on how they will be engaged in plan development to incorporate local views.
This will help system users by making it clearer who needs to be consulted which is a big area of confusion in the current system.
The new centrally funded National Māori entity to be established will better enable Māori participation at the national level. It will have roles in monitoring Te Tiriti performance and providing input into the National Planning Framework.
How we are meeting reform objectives
The Government has set five objectives for the reform of th
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