EDS - RMA replacement bills introduced – fixes are needed

The introduction of the Natural Environment Bill and Planning Bill marks an abrupt end to more than three decades of integrated environmental management under the RMA.

EDS Reform Director Dr Greg Severinsen says “Of most concern is that the Bills introduce the concept of regulatory relief, which is a significant threat to environmental wellbeing. Councils will have to give ‘relief’ to landowners, in the form of cash, rates relief, the provision of experts, or bonus development rights, when certain protections are imposed, including for indigenous biodiversity, outstanding landscapes and high natural character areas.”

He says “A second area of concern is the relationship in the Bills between development and protection. Unlike the RMA, the purposes of the Bills are descriptive only and play no role in decision-making. Instead, decision-makers will have to weigh up a shopping list of ‘goals’, with different lists set out in each Bill.”