RM reforms - round 2 : RMA out, Planning Act and Natural Environment Act in

The Government’s rewrite of New Zealand’s environment and planning system (as provided for in the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA)) has landed in the form of two pieces of legislation:

• a Natural Environment Bill establishing a framework for the use, protection and enhancement of the natural environment, and
• a Planning Bill establishing a framework for regulating the use, development and enjoyment of land.

Much is riding on these Bills - for the Government, which has been promoting them as a key element in its economic growth strategy; for business, which is hoping for a more facilitative, pro-development regime; and for the general public given the likelihood that these Bills will endure and won’t be subject to the flip flop of previous RMA reforms.

Broad overview

The goals in each Bill drive the outcomes of the system. They set out what the system must achieve and what can be regulated. The goals are intended to:

• narrow the scope of the system compared to the RMA 
• provide clear direction for decision-makers
• reduce the complexity and breadth of what decision-makers can consider at the planning and consenting stages.

If something is not covered by the goals, the system will not be allowed to manage it. It’s that simple.

Working in tandem, these new pieces of legislation seek to:

• reduce what matters can be considered (and litigated) at different stages of the system by implementing a ‘funnel’ structure, setting clear goals in legislation at the top and narrowing what matters can be considered at each subsequent stage 
• narrow the scope of effects that are regulated through the system, removing controls for activities with less than minor effects and preventing consideration of effects internal to a site (such as building layouts or balconies), visual amenity, private views and negative impacts on competing businesses.
• provide simpler, clearer and more standardised direction for decision-making and plans, at both a national and regional level
• simplify consenting processes by increasing use of permitted activity status (whereby consents are not required) and reducing activity classes into four categories (removing the restrictive non-complying activity class and the process heavy controlled status)
• set environmental limits applicable to air, freshwater, coastal water, land and soils, capping or managing use of these resources through action plans
• recognise impacts on landowners when limiting use of their land by implementing a new regulatory relief framework (requiring the impacts of planning control to be considered when developing plans and providing relief where these effects are significant)
• strengthen compliance and enforcement, including consideration of whether to establish a national enforcement regulator with a regional presence to administer compliance and enforcement functions, and
• establish a new planning tribunal to handle smaller disputes (with more significant cases handled by the Environment Court).

There is a lot of detail in the package – almost 750 pages of new law plus almost 300 pages of economic analysis – and much, much more to unpack and analyse in submissions.