Frank Newman: RMA reforms pass into law

Last week the National and Maori parties passed their Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms though Parliament. There was an air of arrogance from Environment Minister Nick Smith as the Bill passed through the House - knowing full well that he had the 59 National votes and a proxy for the two Maori Party votes in a 121 member Parliament.

In my view the National Party has made a strategic error in passing this unpopular amendment by making the RMA a bigger "Frankenstein".

Stephen Franks: Doubling down for Nick Smith

I was obliged to spend all yesterday on unplanned responding to calls about Dr Nick Smith’s Resource Legislation Amendment Bill. It could be passed by Parliament this week.

Yet New Zealand is just waking up to what desperately bad legislation it is. Some beneficial provisions are badly overdue, but it tries to fix other weeping RMA sores by forcing Councils  to plaster them with Ministerial acne cream. It is so prescriptive it could be a Green bill, rejecting property rights as a cure for Planners Paralysis, and instead subjecting local authorities to detailed Ministerial decrees.

NZCPR Weekly: Stop the Bill, Prime Minister!

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we ask the Prime Minister to stop the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill, our NZCPR Guest Commentator, Rodney Hide explains why tribalism is the worst form of economic organisation, and this week’s poll asks whether you believe that the introduction of the Maori co-governance of local authorities should be conditional upon the approval of a majority of New Zealanders through a binding public referendum process.

I have sent a letter to the Prime Minister appealing to him to stop the Bill. We feel so strongly about this, that we are publishing the letter in the Sunday Newspapers - so the public can better understand what’s going on and add their voice to our appeal to the PM to stop the Bill. 

NZCPR Weekly: An Abomination of a Bill

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we reveal how misinformation is being used by the Minister for the Environment to counter the NZCPR’s concerns over racist provisions in his Resource Legislation Amendment Bill; our two NZCPR Guest Commentators are freelance journalist Michael Coote, who outlines why Nick Smith’s reforms are a recipe for disaster, and legal expert Stephen Franks, who refutes the Minister’s misleading allegations about the Bill; and this week’s poll asks whether you believe National should press ahead and pass the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill into law before the election.

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Mike Butler: RMA adds first dibs for iwi

More than six years ago the new National-led Government announced the Resource Management (Simplify and Streamline) Amendment Bill 2009. This intended to boost economic development by removing vexatious objections, streamlining processes for projects of national significance, creating an Environmental Protection Authority, improving planning and resource consent processes, and streamlining decision-making.

However, a much watered-down Resource Legislation Amendment Bill that was finally introduced by Environment Minister Nick Smith on Thursday includes an unexpected requirement that tribal authorities be consulted at an earlier stage of planning applications.