Bills to replace New Zealand\u2019s Resource Management Act have passed their third reading in Parliament, signalling the most significant overhaul of the national planning system in 35 years.<\/p>\n
RMA Reform Minister, Chris Bishop said the RMA made it harder and more expensive to build homes and infrastructure, develop renewable energy, produce food and fibre, and invest with confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, it has failed to deliver the environmental outcomes New Zealanders should expect. We have ended up with the worst of both worlds: a system that is costly, complex and difficult to navigate, without delivering effectively for either growth or the environment,\u201d said Mr Bishop.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill replace that system with one that is tightly scoped, simpler, faster, more consistent, and much clearer about the choices we need to make as a country.\u201d<\/p>\n
A fundamental change is that more of the big decisions will be made \u201cupfront\u201d, said the Minister.<\/p>\n
National policy direction, nationally consistent standards and long-term regional spatial planning will provide much greater clarity about where and how New Zealand grows, what needs to be protected, and what rules people need to follow, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means we stop relitigating the same questions over and over again through individual consent applications. Communities, councils, developers, farmers, infrastructure providers and investors will have far greater certainty about what has already been decided and where choices still need to be made.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 100 planning documents will be replaced by 17 regional combined plans. Nationally standardised zones and rules will reduce unnecessary variation across the country, while still allowing for genuine local differences, said Mr Bishop.<\/p>\n
Officials estimate around 45% of consent and permit applications currently required under the RMA could be removed under the new system. Based on 2023\/24 volumes, that represents between 15,000 and 22,000 applications that would no longer be required.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor homeowners, farmers and businesses, they will no longer need to seek permission for ordinary low impact activities. Where activities meet the relevant rules and standards, people will be able to get on with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the new system will also give much greater recognition to the enjoyment of land and require a more deliberate and proportionate approach when planning rules significantly restrict what people can do with their property.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese changes make planning easier and remove one of the longstanding barriers to investment, productivity and higher living standards in New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe economic benefits of the reforms are significant. Independent analysis projects the new planning system will boost GDP by an additional 0.56% every year by 2050, worth up to $3.1 billion annually.<\/p>\n
A cost-benefit analysis also estimates $13.3 billion in savings over 30 years through lower administrative and compliance costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter regulation means less time and money spent navigating unnecessary process, and more investment going into homes, infrastructure, businesses and productive activity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court said the dedicated Natural Environment Bill will provide a clearer, focused framework for managing and protecting New Zealand\u2019s natural resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe old system too often confused more process with better environmental protection. Our new system is much clearer about the environmental outcomes that matter and how they are to be managed,\u201d Mr Court says.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnvironmental limits will set boundaries for effects on ecosystems and human health, supported by national instruments and regional natural environment plans covering freshwater, coastal water, air, land, soil and indigenous biodiversity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pragmatic processes and tools for setting and achieving limits will ensure they are workable for Kiwis on farms, in factories, and in nature, while a strong compliance monitoring and enforcement framework will drive accountability for those not playing ball, said Mr Court.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition to lower consent and permit volumes, the system also front-loads public participation into developing national instruments and plans \u2013 where input can have the greatest influence \u2013 so we\u2019re not giving every Tom, Dick, and Hone the opportunity to obstruct individual consents and permits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut success depends on more than legislative change. We need a fundamental reset in planning culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe RMA has encouraged a culture where the safest answer can be more information, more conditions and more process. The new system is designed to change those incentives, so decision-makers can focus on outcomes rather than process for process\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to shift the planning culture from caution and delay towards confidence, proportionality, judgment and delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the new Planning Tribunal will \u201cprovide a check against council behavioural inertia, giving applicants a low-cost pathway to challenge specified lower-level planning disputes like information and consent condition demands\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegulatory relief will discipline over-zealous councils by forcing them to face the cost of specified \u2018public good\u2019 controls over private property.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ability to justify that cost to the ratepayers who stand to benefit reveals genuine public value and restores fairness for long-suffering landowners in the process. If it can\u2019t convince benefitting ratepayers it\u2019s worth paying for, it hardly justifies forcing the costs on affected landowners.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Bishop says passing the legislation is a major achievement, but successful reform will ultimately depend on how the new system is implemented.<\/p>\n
\u201cPassing these Bills is not the end of the job. The next task is making sure the new system works in practice,\u201d Mr Bishop says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBudget 2026 invests $294 million over four years to support the rollout of the new planning and environmental management system, including nationally consistent planning information, trusted environmental and hazard data, shared digital services and implementation capability.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want people across New Zealand to be working from clearer rules and better information rather than 78 councils repeatedly building separate systems and solving the same problems in different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Minister said the transition will happen in stages. Existing RMA plans, consents and processes will continue while national instruments, regional plans, digital tools and data systems are developed, with the full new system intended to be operating by 2030.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government will also consider the feedback it receives on the illustrative National Policy Direction released in August to inform the development of statutory National Policy Direction, which will go through formal consultation under the new legislation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Following Royal Assent, planning.govt.nz will provide information about the new system, including what is changing, implementation guidance, key milestones and supporting resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor decades New Zealand has talked about the problems with the RMA. We are now replacing it with a planning system designed to make decisions earlier, provide greater certainty, enable New Zealand to grow and protect what matters most.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a once-in-a-generation reform, and one that will shape how New Zealand grows and develops for decades to come,\u201d Mr Bishop said.<\/p>\n
The Government\u2019s non-statutory engagement on the illustrative National Policy Direction runs until 16 October. Feedback received through that process will inform development of statutory National Policy Direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n