Two New Acts Proposed
The Government has unveiled its long-awaited blueprint to overhaul the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), which will include two new pieces of legislation centred around property rights:
- the Natural Environment Act – which focuses on managing the natural environment.
- the Planning Act – which focuses on planning to enable development and infrastructure.
Each new Act will be supported by one set of national direction.
In September 2024, the Government established an Expert Advisory Group (EAG), which developed a blueprint for reform based on 10 principles set by the Government. The EAG was chaired by Janette Campbell and comprised seven members with expertise in resource management law, planning, economics and Te Ao Māori. Cabinet has used the EAG Blueprint to design several new features, including a dual approach that clearly separates land-use planning from natural resource management. Minister Chris Bishop describes this shift as a move toward a “far more liberal planning system with less red tape”. According to the Minister, economic analysis shows that these changes will cut administrative and compliance costs by 45 per cent compared to the current system.
Key Changes
Cabinet aims to standardise and streamline the resource management system. The new laws will introduce nationally standardised land-use zones, shifting the focus of policy setting to a national level. New Zealand currently has 1,175 different types of zones, a number that will be significantly reduced under the new system.
The Government states “genuinely novel” issues will still be given adequate consideration on a case-by-case basis.
The new system will introduce one combined plan per region. Each combined plan will include a spatial planning chapter, an environment chapter and planning chapters (one per territorial authority district). This will be made possible by using an “e-plan” system. Councils will be required to work together to agree one combined plan per region.
Spatial plans will offer long-term strategic direction, simplifying and streamlining the system and allowing “development within constraints”.
Under the new Planning Act, the focus will be on “externalities” when assessing adverse effects, which means that effects on the party undertaking an activity will not be controlled. The starting presumption is that land use is enabled, with higher thresholds for when the management of effects is required. This change is intended to strengthen property owners’ rights to use their property as they see fit.
The Natural Environment Act will include a new framework for environmental limits, that provides more certainty as to where development can take place and addresses over allocated resources.
Additionally, a national compliance and enforcement regulator will be created to ensure more consistency across regions, reducing variability. A new Planning Tribunal will be introduced to resolve disputes efficiently and at a lower cost, minimising the need for court involvement.
Timeline
Detailed drafting remains to be seen, with the Government intending to introduce the two new Acts into the House before the end of 2025.
If you have any questions about the matters raised in this article, please get in touch with the contacts listed or your usual Bell Gully adviser.