Hon Dr Nick Smith
Minister for the Environment
Minister for Building and Housing
16 September 2015
Refinements to Auckland Unitary Plan process announced
A Bill will be introduced to Parliament to give the Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel more flexibility
and help it meet its statutory deadline, Environment and Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Auckland Mayor
Len Brown announced today.
“This Bill is needed to maintain the momentum of lifting Auckland’s housing supply. The house build rate has been
growing at over 20 per cent since the Housing Accord was signed, to reach the highest point in a decade. We need the
Auckland Unitary Plan and its enabling provisions for more housing development through both intensification and
greenfields by October next year when the Special Housing Areas legislation expires,” Dr Smith says.
“It has been a herculean task to complete the largest plan in the 24-year history of the Resource Management Act in
record time. The Panel has made great progress in hearing thousands of submissions on the plan’s policy issues but now
have over 5000 more on site-specific property issues. This will not be achievable without refinements in the process
enabling multiple hearings panels to sit simultaneously next year. These practical changes will help the Panel and the
council to get the job done on time,” Dr Smith says.
The Bill will make four changes to the Resource Management Amendment Act 2013, which provides for the Independent
Hearings Panel:
• A reduction in the quorum from three to two members;
• Allowing extra panel members to be appointed;
• Clarifies that the Panel may hold concurrent sessions and alternate chairs appointed;
• Enabling the Panel to make recommendations to the Auckland Council in stages.
“The Unitary Plan is the rulebook for the future of Auckland and it’s vital we get the process right and concluded on
time. Any opportunity to improve the process by giving the Panel more flexibility is welcome in principle,” Mr Brown
says.
“These refinements maintain the integrity of the Panel’s work but will enable it to meet the report back timetable by 22
July 2016. The Bill is expected to be passed by year’s end, and the hearings on individual site issues to begin in
January 2016,” Mr Brown says.
“There are huge benefits for Auckland in having a new plan for the city and we must do all we can to conclude this
complex job in 2016,” Dr Smith and Mr Brown concluded.
ENDS