The bill is anticipated to pass into law this year
The coalition government has announced plans to introduce the first bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA).
The bill, which is intended to make immediate shifts to the resource management system, is set to go before Parliament next month.
"RM Bill 1 focuses on targeted changes that can take effect quickly and give certainty to councils and consent applicants, while new legislation to replace the RMA is developed,” RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop said. “This bill will reduce the regulatory burden on resource consent applicants and support development in key sectors, including farming, mining and other primary industries. These sectors are critical to rebuilding the New Zealand economy”.
He added that the bill would accelerate and simplify the existing process for making or amending National Direction.
The bill covers five changes that are expected to yield the following results:
- while the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) is under review, resource consent applicants are exempted from demonstrating compliance with the Te Mana o te Wai hierarchy of obligations in their proposed activities
- adjusting stock exclusion regulations with regard to sloped land
- abolishing regulations on intensive winter grazing
- aligning the consent process for coal mining with the pathway for other types of mining in accordance with the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPS-IB), NPS-FM, and the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater
- suspending the requirement for councils to identify new significant natural areas (SNAs) for three years
“Removing the need for resource consent applicants to demonstrate that their activities follow the hierarchy of obligations will better reflect the interests of all water users,” Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said. “Cabinet has agreed changes to stock exclusion and winter grazing regulations representing a move to a more risk-based, catchment-focused approach”.
He added that a proposal was in place to eliminate the “problematic and contentious low slope map and for regional councils and farmers to determine where stock need to be excluded, based on risk. This focus on farm-level and regionally suitable solutions will reduce costs for farmers. Importantly, effective non-regulatory measures are already in place to support the continued improvement of winter grazing practices going forward".
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard added that the government was “working at pace to simplify and improve the freshwater farm plan system”.
“The first RMA Bill will also give effect to the previously announced changes to suspend the identification of new SNAs through the NPS-IB for a period of three years", he said. “The criteria for identifying new significant natural areas within the NPS-IB were an attempt to provide a standard approach to identifying the most important areas of biodiversity. However, there are concerns less significant areas are being captured and this can place too much restriction on how land is used,” Hoggard explained.
RM Bill 1 is set to be implemented this year.
