Resource Management System: Amending the Resource Management Act

The Government is proposing several specific changes to the RMA through the Resource Management Amendment Bill (the bill).

Purpose of the bill

The objectives of this bill are to:

This bill also supports the urgent need to improve freshwater management and outcomes, and respond to climate change in New Zealand.

It also addresses issues with:

The bill was introduced into the House and had its first reading in September 2019.
The Environment Select Committee called for public submissions on the bill in September 2019. The submission period closed on 7 November 2019. There were 385 submissions. Oral hearings on submissions were held in Wellington and Auckland, including by teleconference. These concluded in February 2020.
The Environment Select Committee has considered the public submissions and reported back its decisions.
The bill as reported back includes:
- a number of technical changes to existing proposals, particularly the proposed freshwater planning process and EPA enforcement provisions
- some new proposed provisions. These include amendments to enable local decision-makers to consider climate change mitigation under the RMA from 31 December 2021.

The bill is on the Legislation website.

The Environment Select Committee’s report on the bill is on the New Zealand Parliament Pāremata Aotearoa website.

Reviewed:

30/03/20