RM Reform – New Government does 180° on previous government’s RMA Reform

Following repeal of the Natural and Built Environment Act and the Spatial Planning Act, the government has announced the next phase in its staged approach to RMA reform, including a number of changes particularly relevant in the rural context.

Current and upcoming RMA reform will see:

• The introduction of the new ‘one-stop-shop Fast-Track consenting regime’;
• Two bills amending the RMA, one addressing ‘urgent coalition agreements’ relating to national policy on freshwater and indigenous biodiversity, the subject matter of the other expected to further amend the RMA/nation direction pursuant to the RMA; and
• Subsequent replacement of the RMA.

Reform of the resource management regime was a key campaign area for the previous government, and has elevated in contention with the amendments proposed by this government.

The prompt repeal of the Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Act, representing ‘Phase One’ of the proposed reform, was largely overshadowed by the introduction of the contentious Fast-Track Approvals Bill, representing the first step in ‘Phase Two’. The Fast-Track Approvals Bills has made further headlines in the recent weeks with the release of the list identifying stakeholders invited to apply to have their projects listed in the new legislation – some rural industry stakeholders being among those contacted.

Applications to have projects listed in Fast-Track Approvals Bill are open until 3 May 2024, and are subject to assessment by an independent advisory group that will make recommendations to Ministers. Listing in Schedule 2A will provide automatic referral into the fast-track process, while listing in Schedule 2B will be taken into account once referral into the fast-track is further applied for.

The next step in ‘Phase Two’ is the introduction of an amendment bill, expected next month (First Bill). This bill will be one of two introduced to amend the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), prior to its intended replacement in ‘Phase Three’.

First Bill:  Amendments to Freshwater and Indigenous Biodiversity national direction

The intention of the First Bill is to provide ‘targeted changes that can take effect quickly’ and provide sufficient impact to ‘reduce the regulatory burden’ currently facing certain industries – particularly the rural industry. The Government has advised that the First Bill will:

1. Amend the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (NPS-FM) and National Environmental Standards for Freshwater 2020 (NES-F) to:

• In the interim, prior to review and replacement of the NPS-FM, remove requirements for resource consent applicants to demonstrate alignment with Te Mana o te Wai obligations.
• Amend the stock exclusion regulations relating to sloped land by removing the ‘low slope map’ and opting instead for risk assessment ‘on farm-level’ with ‘regionally sustainable solutions’. How exactly this will look remains to be seen.
• Complete repeal of the intensive winter grazing regulations in time for the 2025 seasons. Winter grazing is proposed to instead be ‘managed through good practice and regional council plans’. This is anticipated to involve freshwater farm and catchment plans.
• Remove the sunset clause in the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater that effectively bars new consents for coal mining in or within 100m of a wetland from 31 December 2030. This amendment would align application to extract coal with other mineral extraction applications in terms of the discretionary consenting pathway.

2. Amend the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPS-IB) to suspend the identification of new Significant Natural Areas (SNA) by three years.

The changes in respect of farming regulations and the Te Mana o te Wai obligations will address a number of current pinch points for the sector. However, as the requirement for notification of new regional freshwater plans has been delayed to December 2027 while the NPS-FM is reviewed, there is potential that existing regional plan provisions to do not yet fill the void.

In terms of the SNA identification, the actual effect of this amendment may not be felt uniformly across the country, as in some cases the requirement to identify SNAs in district plans is also directed by other higher order planning documents which must be given effect to, such as regional policy statements.

Further, the proposed change is to suspend the requirement, not remove it at this stage. This is a softer amendment than the repeal of the intensive winter grazing rules. Even if the change did propose repeal, Councils may still elect to proceed with identification – a decision that would likely turn on the progress presently made with identification, and the cost already incurred to date.

Second Bill:  Expected contents

The Government has invited comment on further ‘targeted and practicable’ changes to the RMA that will be in line with ‘the government’s stated policy priorities’, but has not explicitly identified what amendments the second bill will progress. Suggestions for the second bill closed on 5 April 2024.

The Government is looking at amendments that could have ‘real impact in the short term’, and has previously identified the following areas for change:

1. Enablement of housing growth, presumably through National’s ‘Going for Housing Growth’ Plan, which will require ‘refocusing’ of the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land. We understand this will involve the exclusion of LUC-3 land from the definition of ‘Highly Productive Land’.
2. Enablement of renewable energy through National’s ‘Electrify NZ’ policy platform – we understand a new national policy statement on renewable energy is imminent.
3. Changes to Forestry-related consenting.
4. Changes to emergency response decision/regulation-making powers.
5. A raft of changes to national direction, including amendment, review or development of over a dozen national direction instruments.

The future of RM Reform and the RMA

In the longer term, complete replacement of the RMA is proposed for introduction and enactment in 2025. Like the previous phases, this ‘Phase Three’ represents an ambitious target – we look forward to seeing where this government takes us on the RM Reform rollercoaster.

Want to know more?

If you have any questions about RM Reform or the RMA, please contact our specialist Resource Management team.

View the pdf version of this article here.