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EDS Welcomes The Randerson Panel’s Proposals To Repeal The RMA
EDS
is broadly supportive of the report, released today, of the
government’s independent resource management reform panel.
The report offers wide-ranging recommendations for deep,
fundamental reforms. Key
recommendations include: “It has
been accepted for a long time now that the current system
isn’t working for the environment, business and
communities,” said EDS CEO Gary
Taylor. “For several years, EDS and
its business partners (Infrastructure New Zealand, the
Employers and Manufacturers Association, Property Council
New Zealand, and Business New Zealand) have been pushing for
its review. We’ve been progressing our own extensive work
programme, producing a number of comprehensive reports on
the future of our system. The most recent of those was
released earlier this week.” “We are
very pleased to see that the Panel has engaged deeply with
the EDS project and it’s great to see alignment with many
of our own findings and recommendations,” said Senior
Researcher Dr Greg Severinsen, who has been leading the EDS
work on system reform. “In particular,
replacing the RMA with a new piece of integrated legislation
is a good step. It has become long, complex and cumbersome
and has failed to protect the environment or provide for
people’s wellbeing. A future system needs to be more
focused on what kind of future we want, not just the things
we don’t want to happen. But we note that, in contrast to
some reporting we have seen today, the Panel is specifically
not calling for separate legislation for planning and
environment. The Panel clearly considers that integrated
management provided by a single act is a good
thing. “We agree that national direction
needs to be mandatory where a matter of national importance
is at stake, and it needs to form a more coherent package
rather than just adding a new instrument when a problem
emerges. We would like to see national direction combined
into a single National Environment Plan, but a comprehensive
suite of well-connected National Policy Statements as
recommended by the Panel would be a good first
step. “As recognised by the Panel,
planning processes need to be more agile and involve true
partnership with Māori. We’ve proposed an independent
Futures Commission and Tikanga Commission to achieve a
strong independent voice, but the Panel’s National Māori
Advisory Board and strengthened role for the Parliamentary
Commissioner for the Environment show a similar direction of
thinking. “The Panel has also
recognised the importance of having a higher-level Strategic
Planning Act – similar to our own calls for a Future
Generations Act – under which regional spatial strategies
would be made. That will be crucial to ensure that more
detailed frameworks for land use, infrastructure funding and
climate change – and central government, local government,
and Māori – are all singing from the same song sheet when
it comes to things like urban growth and land use change.
The proposed implementation agreements should mean that
there is the money to support that
vision. “The Panel’s idea of having a
separate statute to deal with climate change adaptation is
an interesting one. The RMA has proved inadequate to deal
with this challenge, and adaptation issues require us to
look well beyond the RMA to property legislation, insurance
settings, and the establishment of a new adaptation
fund. “In a number of areas, we would
still like to see deeper change. For example, providing for
a much smaller number of integrated combined regional plans
would simplify the planning landscape. We would have 14
plans instead of 100. But this would be made even simpler
and more efficient by the reducing the number of councils.
We are over-governed. “We’ll be
delving deeply into the 500 plus page report, as the devil
is always in the detail. But the report is definitely
setting us on the right
path. “Finally, it’s crucial that
actual change comes about as a
result. “There is cross-party support for
fundamental reform, and that has to translate to action.
This could be a defining moment in New Zealand’s history.
But it’s essential that people take the time to work
through the report thoroughly. It should not be politicised.
We are asking all parties to act with restraint, not rush to
judgement. “We congratulate the
Panel on its work,” concluded Dr
Severinsen.
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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