.......but keep an eye on the Treaty’s role
It was rather like listening to ministers crowing about the goodies being distributed to programmes within their portfolios before, on and after Budget Day.
It was the joyous response from a gaggle of cheerleading ministers to the unveiling of legislation to replace the wretched Resource Management Act.
Environment Minister David Parker made the key announcement and summed up its features under these bullet points:
- The system is broken, consent fees have almost doubled, and consenting time frames increased by 50%
- New standardised conditions will see fewer “bespoke” consents and speed up the process
- Time to consent will shorten, and fast track process retained
- On a conservative estimate costs will fall 19% a year ($149m) or $10b over 30 years
- Environmental protection increases, based on new targets and limits.
- The National Planning Framework will provide consistency and certainty
- 100 RMA plans will reduce to 15
This would address a raft of long-standing problems with the current system, while saving the economy hundreds of millions of dollars.
“The new resource management system will deliver economic and environmental benefits. For every $1 spent the new system is expected to deliver $2.58 to $4.90 in benefits.
“On a conservative estimate costs to users will fall by 19 per cent a year, or $149m, equal to more than $10 billion in cost savings over 30 years.
“More than 100 RMA plans will reduce to just 15 regional-level plans across the country. The time taken to prepare them will reduce from 10 years under the current system to a maximum of four years.”
And so on.
Parker triumphantly released his press statement under the heading –
Grant Robertson, as Minister of Finance and of Infrastructure, enthusiastically chimed in with his own statement to assure us –
Making the Resource Management process quicker, cheaper and better will help boost New Zealand’s economic growth, he said.
From Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor came an assurance for farmers –
He said the new resource management system aims to reduce a reliance on consenting and provide clearer direction for farmers and the agricultural sector.
And let’s not leave Housing Minister Megan Woods out of our round-up. Her statement was headed –
Woods said New Zealand’s housing and urban system is set to benefit from the overhaul of the Resource Management system, making the ability to build new housing simpler, faster and cheaper.
Hurrah.
The cheerleading would not be complete without a reference to the magic that will flow from ensuring the Treaty of Waitangi is appropriately embedded in the new legislation.
Associate Environment Minister Kiri Allan duly obliged with a statement headed –
Kiri Alan said the Resource Management reform will uphold Treaty settlements, commitments and arrangements and ensure Māori maintain established decision-making and participation at both a regional and national level, which has been the case to date as a result of successive governments’ Treaty Settlement arrangements.
But when she says the reform ensures the Crown fulfils its Treaty obligations, bear in mind the Ardern government has a politically contentious idea of how those obligations should be translated into legislation.
Here’s hoping our good mate Thomas Cranmer is looking into this and other aspects of the reforms.
Other ministers with other duties meanwhile have advised us they are –
Minister of Defence Peeni Henare departs for the United Kingdom today to meet with Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace to discuss the UK and New Zealand’s shared security interests and ongoing defence co-operation.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Climate Change Minister James Shaw announced the Government has welcomed New Zealand Debt Management’s issuance of NZ$3 billion of the New Zealand Sovereign Green Bonds that will mature in 2034.
Climate Change Minister James Shaw (without Grant Robertson as co-author of the statement this time) said New Zealand has announced a five-fold increase in its contribution to global efforts to support climate change adaptation.
The announcement of a new $15 million commitment to the Adaptation Fund was made while Shaw was at COP27 in Egypt.
At least half of this Government’s NZ$1.3 billion climate finance package will be targeted at projects that support climate resilience, especially in the Pacific.
The contribution to the Adaptation Fund is the second funding announcement made around COP27. It follows a commitment of $20 million of dedicated finance for loss and damage.
Both are allocations from the $1.3 billion climate finance commitment for 2022–2025.
The Adaptation Fund is the only multilateral climate fund dedicated to financing adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries. It was set up in 2007 to fund climate adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that were parties to the Kyoto Protocol.
Since 2010, the Adaptation Fund has allocated more than US$923 million for climate change adaptation and resilience projects and programmes. This includes more than 130 projects in the most vulnerable communities of developing countries, with 33 million beneficiaries.
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash and Immigration Minister Michael Wood said towns and cities up and down the country should be prepping for a busy summer season, as the latest official numbers highlight the continued growth in international visitors.
Acting Agriculture and Rural Communities Minister Meka Whaitiri announced 32 graduate vets will begin their careers in rural New Zealand, with a financial boost from the Government’s Voluntary Bonding Scheme for Veterinarians
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
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