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EDS responds to Hon Dr Nick Smith’s speech
Media Release: EDS responds to Hon Dr Nick Smith’s speech
The Environmental Defence Society is responding to Hon Dr Nick Smith’s announcements today regarding RMA reforms.
“Dr Smith has outlined ten major changes the Government is proposing this year, said EDS Executive Director Gary Taylor.
“These include:
• Add natural
hazards
• Recognise urban planning
• Prioritise
housing affordability
• Acknowledge importance of
infrastructure
• Greater weight to property
rights
• National planning templates
• Speed up
plan-making
• Encouraging collaborative
resolution
• Strengthening national
tools
• Internet for simplicity and speed
“Most of these changes have been anticipated and are broadly acceptable in principle. The devil will be in the detail and we look forward to seeing actual drafting in due course.
“The proposal to give great weight to property rights is however a concern. Recent work by EDS has demonstrated that we are losing biodiversity at an alarming rate and one of the reasons for this is that private property rights are overwhelming the public interest in conservation. We would argue that the balance needs to be tipped more in favour of the public interest and that prioritising private property rights will lead to environmental decline.
“We note with approval the Minister’s continuing assurance that he does not intend to amend Section 5 of the Act which is the purpose section.
“Many of the process changes are sensible and had been signalled earlier in the Government’s discussion paper. However, we are unsure whether the Minister is intending to limit the role of the Environment Court on plan appeals. Such a change would need careful consideration and discussion and would be controversial.
“A key concern we had was the original proposal to merge Sections 6 & 7 into an unprioritised list. Although the Minister has signalled some additions to both sections, the merger idea seems to have been dropped.
“We look forward to working with the Minister in a collaborative way as these reform ideas are developed further,” Mr Taylor concluded.
ENDS
Environmental Defence Society
EDS speaks for the environment. It has influence.
Since 1971, EDS has been driving environmental protection in Aotearoa New Zealand
through law and policy change. That's why it's one of this country's most influential non-
profit organisations when it comes to achieving better environmental outcomes.
EDS has expertise in key disciplines including law, planning, landscape and science. It
operates as a policy think-tank, a litigation advocate, and a collaborator – bringing together
the private and public sectors for constructive engagement.
EDS runs conferences and seminars on topical issues, including an annual Environmental
Summit and the Climate Change and Business Conference.
EDS is a registered charity and donations to it are tax-deductible.
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