EDS launches major new report on risks and solutions in replacing the Resource Management Act

The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) has released its third and final report in a multi-year project examining the Government’s ‘phase 3’ resource management reforms: Replacing the Resource Management Act – Risks and Solutions.

The report provides an in-depth analysis of the Government’s blueprint to replace the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) with two new statutes and explores the risks and opportunities these proposals present.

It explores seven key shifts that are being proposed for the new system, including:

• Narrowing the scope of the system to externalities, and the implications for land use, urban design, and climate resilience.

• Proposals for regulatory takings and the risks of undermining public interest environmental protections.

• How legislative design – splitting the RMA into a Planning Act and Natural Environment Act – could fragment management and increase complexity.

• The purpose and principles of the new legislation, including weak recognition of the environment and Treaty obligations.

• Frameworks for environmental limits, strategic spatial planning, and national standardisation.