Resource Management Reform – Blueprint released

Yesterday, Hon Chris Bishop, Minister for Resource Management Reform released the Blueprint for resource management (RM) reform.

The Blueprint is the report from the Government appointed Expert Working Group on RM Reform.

The Blueprint signals big changes ahead, some of the proposals make sense (they are things the sector has been asking for) and others we will want to dig into. The headline changes are:

• The RMA will be replaced by the Natural and Built Environment Act and the Planning Act
• Each Act will have a single set of national direction and a set of goals
• Mandatory regional spatial plan, it will have regulatory weight
• A single regulatory plan per region
• each district plan is a “chapter” prepared under the Planning Act
• the regional plan is prepared under the Natural Environment Act
• More prescription and standardisation: national standards, nationally standardised land use zones – enabling a national E-plan
• Reduced duplication with other regulatory systems
• Main protections for Māori interests carried forward
• Some transfer of functions from territorial authorities to regional councils

I have had some early visibility of the proposals, so have done some thinking already. My early thoughts are:

• spatial planning with regulatory weight should be a game changer
• as our adaptation and climate responses are typically local, the spatial plan will need to be granular enough to support this
• greater standardisation is positive, but careful thought is needed about how difference/localism is reflected in cities/districts
• an alternative to plan changes to enable development areas to be brought online when consistent with the spatial plan is welcome
• there are likely to be some challenges resolving conflicts between the two Acts and between the policy direction for each Act (each has a very different purpose)

We look forward to kicking the tyres as the Blueprint proposals are worked up into legislation. Key to making this work is thinking about transition and implementation at an early stage. I am conscious that some current requirements under the RMA no longer make sense – the mandatory requirement to review regional and district plans and the requirement to implement national planning standards. When Taituarā spoke to the Select Committee on the recent Bill, we urged them to remove these mandatory requirements and to make them optional.

And there will be some “no regrets” work we can get on with – especially in the spatial planning area – so the sector can be proactive about the direction the Blueprint is setting.

Taituarā has prepared a set of slides that outline the Blueprint proposals – you can adapt these as you see fit for your own use.

Upcoming webinars

We will host a webinar on the Blueprint proposals on Friday 11 April where Simpson Grierson will provide analysis of the proposals. And in May we will host a follow up webinar on implementation challenges in the current environment – members of the Resource Management Reform Reference Group will share how they are approaching the development of their work programmes in the context of so much uncertainty.

We are interested in hearing from you about the aspects of the Blueprint proposals you are particularly interested in. The implications for our local government workforce are top of my mind. The greater emphasis on strategic planning and standardisation and away from consenting will require a different set of skills.

The link to the EAG report and fact sheets containing cabinet recommendations is here: New planning laws to end the culture of ‘no’ | Beehive.govt.nz

Aileen Lawrie
Chair Resource Management Reform Reference Group