The Government’s reform of the Resource Management Act (RMA) has progressed further since our Spring Member Briefings.
The new government has gone back to the old 1991 system, added its own version of fast-track legislation for major projects, and is working on its own replacement RMA that is based on property rights and enabling infrastructure and development while establishing more national standards to give clear direction and establish protections.
The fast-track legislation has already been through a panel-beating process, with the original proposal allowing ministerial approval now removed.
149 projects have been listed for inclusion in the fast-track legislation, with 30 in the Business Central region to enable renewable energy, infrastructure and housing developments to receive a faster path to consent.
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop and his Under- Secretary, Act MP Simon Court, are driving the new replacement RMA legislation, known as RMA 3.
There will be two replacement acts, an RMA and a Spatial Planning Bill.
The RMA will have property rights at its core, meaning that if you own the land, want to do something with it that fits with the regional plan and meets the various new national standards, then you should reasonably expect to be able to go ahead with your project or development.
National standards will set the bulk of environmental protections.
The Spatial Planning Bill will set out how an unspecified number of regional plans will be developed. Those regional plans will set the parameters and locations for transport corridors and residential and business precincts, laying out the uses landowners are permitted to develop on their land.
Having RMA 3 reform by the end of the current Government term in 2026 remains an ambitious target, and there still much work to do.