CEAC submission on Resource Management Reform Bill
Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre. Press release. 6th November. 2019.

CEAC has also sent our submission on Resource Management Reform Bill.
We confer with (EDS) principals  Environmental Defence Society on their submission sent.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/
QUOTE;
“The Bill removes provisions giving Ministers excessive powers and repeals provisions that many submitters to the previous Bill considered unworkable. It also creates a new plan-making process for freshwater reform. We support those provisions and most of the technical changes proposed.”

We support EDS also on their position expressed with RMA submissions.

CEAC also submitted to the ‘select committee’ and Government Ministers in support of the restoration of the RMA to the original higher standards that we had found for the protection of our ‘Built and Natural’ Environment from 1991when the RMA was first produced for our community environmental protection.

Other requested changes were made in our submissions.

• Resource Management Amendment Bill must be reinforced and enshrined in the strong focus of the ‘health and wellbeing’ of all citizens in compliance with the new regulatory legal requirement under the “Local Community Wellbeing Act enshrined in law April 2019.

CEAC history with use of RMA;

We have been working with PCE and Governments since 2001, on all environmental community concerns using the RMA and have seen a destruction of the environmental protection of the RMA after several corrosive repeals were made to weaken the protection given us since 1991 when the Resource Management Act 1991 was produced.

So we are very active in restoring all the strong processes in the RMA to protect our environment for the wellbeing and health of the public.

For example;  Under part two of the RMA ‘The Honourable Nick Smith’ as Environment Minister removed most of section 31 Quote; “(Repeal section 31(1)(b)(ii))”

We need to restore all parts of section 31 section 31(1)(b)(ii)) and Part two of 7 – (other matters) (see below 1991.) territorial functions under the RMA.

We strongly request reinstatement of these amendments to the Act in this Parliament term.

We will  also represent our submission to verbally discuss this issue, using a report we assisted the PCE to produce when working alongside the staff of the PCE in 2005 in HB.

The matter was regarding heavy transport road traffic noise and air pollution in our urban communities, in which the PCE used the RMA, to relay the importance of using the RMA to protect the urban community "Amenity values and well- being" using both RMA sections 7c and 31.

At that time and gradually since then in 2015 MP Nick Smith culled and gutted those two important sections of the RMA that protected the health and well-being of our communities, leaving us very badly exposed to environmental harm.

Here is the PCE website location of that PCE report we referred to below.

Please note page eight was the reference where the PCE used the RMA specifically.

https://www.pce.parliament.nz/

Page 8 PCE report 3 The New Zealand context 3.1 Noise and urban amenity values

“Section 7c of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) states that the relevant agencies shall have particular regard to “the maintenance and enhancement of amenity values”. Section 31 states that one of the functions of territorial authorities is “the control of the emission of noise and the mitigation of the effects of noise”. Amenity values are defined as “those natural or physical qualities and characteristics of an area that contribute to people’s appreciation of its pleasantness, aesthetic coherence, and cultural and recreational attributes”.
• Resource Management Amendment Bill must be reinforced and enshrined in the strong focus of the ‘health and wellbeing’ of all citizens in compliance with the new regulatory legal requirement under the “Local Community Wellbeing Act enshrined in law April 2019.

These goals are so important to our rights to have a safe clean healthy environment where ever we live and must be included in RMA reforms.

END.

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