The flurry of action in the resource management space continues. We know many of you have done significant work in the past couple of months submitting and presenting to select committee on the Natural and Built Environment Bill (NBEA) and Spatial Planning Bill (SPA).
The Select Committee is expected to report back by the 6 June 2023. We are looking forward to seeing how many recommendations that have been made by local government will be adopted. In the meantime, there are a few updates in this space.
Infrastructure consenting for climate targets
Last week the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission Te Waihanga, reiterated the need for a simpler, more effective system in order to reduce consenting costs and meet our climate goals.
Te Waihanga Chief Executive, Ross Copland noted that "as efficiency is a key objective for the resource management reforms, this latest study helps to build a picture of how much more efficient the new system needs to be. It reinforces the need to reverse increasing consent processing times if we are to successfully meet our Net Zero 2050 commitment."
A copy of the full report can be found here.
Iwi/Māori input on the new resource management system
On Monday this week, the Ministry for the Environment also opened a consultation for iwi/Māori on developing the next steps for the implementation of the NBEA and SPA.
The discussion document covers the content of the first NPF, regional implementation, climate adaptation and mitigation, and land use and emissions pricing. Feedback on the discussion document is due by 23 April 2023.
The Ministry for the Environment also intends to run a series of regional hui to gather feedback. Dates and locations for these hui will be published on the Ministry for the Environment website.