Ministers will now be able to override the decisions of councils and locally elected officials.

“Chris Bishop has taken National’s general disdain for local councils up a notch and has assigned himself the role of Chief Council Despot,” Labour local government spokesperson Tangi Utikere said.

“Councils are elected by the people they serve and know their regions and cities best. Chris Bishop deciding that plans made by local communities are overly restrictive without any evidence to back it up is wrong.

“National’s Resource Management Act legislation is getting the whims of every minister taped to it – instead of protecting natural and urban environments and delivering better outcomes, the hodge podge law is giving Chris Bishop a free pass to do whatever he likes.

“New Zealand is not a sandpit for Chris Bishop to play in.

“We had a bipartisan agreement on Medium Density Residential Standards which National backed out of. They shafted councils on water, pulled out of RMA reform that was already underway to fix intensification, and used their fast-track law to override much of what local communities want.

“National has long displayed a thinly veiled disdain for local Government, offending regional and local councils at every turn, it’s not just rude, it’s poor politics. There is absolutely nothing heroic about this,” Tangi Utikere said.

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