Source: New Zealand Government
The legislation underpinning New Zealand’s new planning system has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a major step toward replacing the RMA with a system that supports economic growth and opportunities for Kiwis, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Under-Secretary Simon Court say.
“The Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill will deliver a modern planning system that lifts growth, productivity and living standards,” Mr Bishop says.
“The two Bills will replace the failed Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) which has slowed down energy and infrastructure projects, made it far too hard to build the homes Kiwis need, and created enormous uncertainty for our farmers and growers among many others.”
Mr Bishop says each Bill plays a distinct but complementary role in delivering the new system.
“The Planning Bill is about cutting red tape, reducing costs and unnecessary delays, and unlocking growth.”
Among other things, it will:
- consolidate more than 100 existing plans into just 17 regional combined plans with clear timeframes
- allow more activities to proceed without a consent
- introduce simpler and standardised planning rules
- narrow what councils can regulate to genuine impacts like noise and shading, and raise the threshold for what is regulated
- focus consultation where it matters
- establish a Planning Tribunal to speed up smaller disputes
- establish a regulatory relief framework for situations where planning controls significantly affect the reasonable use of land.
“The Planning Bill has been designed with property rights at its core including tension mechanisms like regulatory relief and a Planning Tribunal. The Bill streamlines and rationalises planning and consenting so that far fewer consents will be required,” Mr Court says.
“These tension elements also carry through into the Natural Environment Bill, which provides the framework for protecting and enhancing the natural environment through clear, science-based limits on freshwater, coastal water, land, soil and biodiversity.”
The Natural Environment Bill:
- retains the existing RMA allocation approach initially but enables more efficient allocation tools over time, including market-based methods.
- requires a proportionate regulatory approach – using voluntary or farmer-led tools wherever possible and regulating only when necessary
- upholds Treaty settlements
- extends regulatory relief to biodiversity controls where they have a significant impact on private property.
- ensures mandatory limits, clear goals and a consistent national-to-local hierarchy so communities know exactly what must be protected and how environmental outcomes will be delivered.
“The RMA tried to do everything at once and did none of it well. These Bills replace it with two focused, fit-for-purpose laws,” Mr Court says.
Mr Bishop says the Bills, together with the national instruments that will sit beneath them, will deliver a system that works for New Zealanders.
“The new planning system these Bills will deliver will make it easier to build the homes and infrastructure our country needs, give farmers and growers the freedom to get on with producing world-class food and fibre, and strengthen our primary sector while protecting the environment.
“These reforms are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to free ourselves from a millstone that has weighed on both our economy and our environment, and to build a system grounded in property rights, clarity and common sense.”
Mr Bishop says independent economic analysis shows the new system is projected to save $13.3 billion over 30 years from reduced administrative and compliance costs. Analysis also indicates that it could remove the need for up to 46 per cent of resource consents.
“I encourage New Zealanders to engage through the select committee process and through the development of national instruments,” Mr Bishop says.
“The passage of the first reading is only the beginning. The select committee process is the main opportunity for councils, iwi, environmental groups, developers, businesses, farmers and members of the public to engage with the detail of these reforms.
“The planning system affects all of us in different ways, and must be workable across every sector in New Zealand. We look forward to constructive feedback on the bills through the select committee process, which will then help shape national instrument development, where sector input will also be critical.”
The Government aims to pass the Bills into law in 2026.
