Reform of resource management will save millions

Reform of the resource management law will save ratepayers and businesses millions – and could stimulate hundreds of millions in new economic activity.

The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development says proposed RMA reforms to lower the cost and speed up the process for making quality decisions will be welcomed by business – and others who are indirectly affected.

The Business Council – whose 73 member companies’ annual sales of $59 billion equate to 43% of gross domestic product in dollar terms – says the country will also benefit from faster technology roll out and improved energy security and more quickly develop efficient infrastructure if the RMA is streamlined.

Business Council Chief Executive Peter Neilson says his organisation, based on research involving members, non-member companies and environmental law experts, called for similar reforms in 2005.

While many of the Business Council’s suggestions were adopted by the previous Government, the next tranche of proposed reforms are greatly needed.

Greater of use national standards to guide 85 local authorities would streamline decision making and cut costs.

Differing local approaches have been accepted in the past, imposing costs, delays and uncertainties and holding back development.

For example, Telecom’s CDMA (027) roll out consenting process took 18 months and $1.8 million, despite being a minor upgrade in practical terms, requiring the addition of an antennae the size of a tea cup to most sites. Almost all sites were secured under non-notified consents and all applications were granted. For Vodafone, the roll out of its 2G (GΐM) network took 12 years and had consenting costs of between $6-7 million.

Consent renewals for existing and long-established hydro dams have taken years and cost millions of dollars.

“It’s good to have central government taking regulatory leadership,” Mr Neilson says.

Reform – while still protecting the environment and communities – would help avoid

• flow on costs – to consumers in higher prices for goods and services
• communities suffering substandard, deteriorating or unavailable services
• infrastructure deficits in transmission and other assets
• properties near major projects suffering “planning blight” (loss of value, harder to sell),
• unnecessary and heavy cost burdens on councils and ratepayers.

New technologies and agricultural practices could be rolled out or accepted more quickly, boosting economic development and the quality of life.

The proposed reforms will help ensure

• projects don’t take longer to consent than to build
• developments don’t have to seek consents more than 80 times to put an item the size of a tea cup on a telecommunications antennae
• councils which don’t meet statutory timeframes will suffer a loss of income.

Years of a hands-off approach by the Crown once the RMA came into effect – specially during periods of major economic and technology development – helped cause infrastructure deficits in everything from energy and transport, to telecommunications and housing.

“The RMA has become an increasingly litigious, costly and uncertain regime for development,” Mr Neilson says.

“Submitters have faced no effective sanctions against irresponsible participation.
Inconsistent local administration of the RMA has been aggravated by inadequate performance by some local authorities.

“SMEs have been affected by unreasonable delays in consents and poor council performance, which sometimes poses a threat to those businesses’ viability and existence.

“The RMA couldn’t cope with growth, and it can’t cope with a recession.
Streamlining is needed.”

When the RMA replaced the previous planning regime New Zealand went from a very centralised to probably the most decentralised planning process in the world.

“The RMA reform was probably the least well implemented of all the 1988-1990 reforms. It was under resourced and coincided with a major reorganisation of local and central government. Doing a good job and doing it once makes a lot of sense for business and the public who eventually pay the bills,” Mr Neilson says. “We should learnᾠfrom these past reforms and make sure the law making and implementation are well resourced and of high quality.

“We look forward to seeing the detail of the proposed legislation, as some of the reforms are likely to prove difficult to implement.”

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