Geoff Parker: Culture Is Not Democracy - Equal Citizenship Is

Professor Dominic O'Sullivan argues that abolishing Mana Whakahono ā Rohe Agreements "undermines democracy". In reality, the opposite is true.

No one is arguing that Māori culture should be excluded from public life. Every New Zealander is free to express their culture, advocate for their interests, and participate in democratic processes.

The issue is whether one ethnic group should enjoy statutory rights that no other citizens possess.

Seymour vows to scrap iwi agreements after ECan backdown

Chris Lynch chats to David Seymour about Environment Canterbury, Resource Management Act, Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement and more.


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Duncan Garner: Horizons Regional Council - 14 Iwi Agreements Rushed Through in Secret?

Local councils across New Zealand are quietly locking ratepayers into long-term co-governance arrangements without any honest conversation about the final bill. This week at Horizons Regional Council, councillors are being asked to progress 14 separate Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements under the Resource Management Act. These deals require staff, lawyers, consultants, and ongoing administration potentially forever, yet councils are treating basic financial questions from elected members as a problem.

We look at the growing culture of information overload inside local government, where massive agenda papers are dumped on councillors right before a vote. With major central government reforms coming to replace the RMA framework, rushing these commitments through on the hoof makes no sense. Ratepayers deserve to know where their money is going, especially when every dollar spent on bureaucracy is a dollar not spent on fixing roads and upgrading infrastructure.

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Bob Edlin: RMA breach - The curious case of the council which slapped itself with an abatement notice over river work

Southland farmers are familiar with the environmental regulations heaped on them under the Resource Management Act and the penalties imposed for breaching the rules.

A headline in Farmers’ Weekly last November told a typical story:

Farmer cops huge fine for ignoring abatement notices

Bob Edlin: Is this a gold mine? Iwi might need consulting....

Is this a gold mine? Iwi might need consulting (for a fee) before your development can be given RMA consents

West Coast Regional Councillor Allan Birchfield has whipped up a fuss in his neck of the woods by challenging the Ngāti Waewae representative Francois Tumahai over the iwi’s role in resource consenting.

The iwi – it seems – must agree to gold-mining consents in gold-mining country, presumably after appropriate consultation or engagement fees have been paid.

Nick Clark: Fast-track approvals are necessary but should be temporary

The government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform is shaping to be a tale of two approaches: one necessary but potentially problematic, the other more fundamental and promising.

Last weekend, Ministers Chris Bishop and Shane Jones unveiled a long-awaited list of 149 projects that will be included in the government’s controversial Fast Track Approvals Bill.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive 17/9/24

RMA to be relaxed for farm recovery after floods – but court sentences are being hardened in a crackdown on criminals

On the one hand, the government can expect to win kudos for suspending the law – or one bit of it. On the other, it can expect to get plenty of support for hardening its law-and-order credentials.

The law is being over-ridden by an Order in Council intended to enable severe weather recovery works to continue in the Hawke’s Bay.

Ele Ludemann: Brownmail & greenmail power play?

Labour put the green cart well in front of the practical horses. That’s part of the reason power prices are so high which is threatening businesses and could be costing jobs:

Dr Bryce Wilkinson: The myth of New Zealands business-friendly reputation

New Zealand has long enjoyed its reputation as one of the world's most transparent and business-friendly nations. Does it deserve this reputation? Surely, we should be doing better anyway?

Take New Zealand’s flattering ranking for the absence of corruption. In 2023, Transparency International ranked New Zealand as the third least corrupt of 180 countries. Denmark was first, Finland second.

Damien Grant: Luxon's government is indistinguishable from its predecessors

On macro issues, Luxon's government is indistinguishable from its predecessors

A sip, sometimes a whiff, is enough. It is not necessary to consume the entire bottle to know its contents.

We need to talk about Christopher.

John MacDonald: Who says farmers can't be trusted?

Welcome to another war of words between the greenies and the government over changes to the Resource Management Act.

With the poor old farmers stuck in the middle, just wanting the chance to be trusted to do the right thing when it comes to protecting the environment. And that’s what I think we should be doing.

Mike's Minute: This Government was elected on change — embrace it

A good lesson in life is to work out, that if things aren't working the way you are currently doing them, then you want to change it.

We have a gargantuan hole in this country in terms of doing things in infrastructure.

We haven't, and don’t, get things done and when we crack on with the odd project it is almost always behind in time and over in money.

Nick Clark: Balancing progress and prudence

The Coalition Government has introduced the Fast-Track Approvals Bill as part of its broader efforts to reform the Resource Management Act (RMA). The Bill aims to speed up decision-making for infrastructure and development projects with potential for substantial regional and national economic benefits.

The Bill underscores the Government’s commitment to promoting growth and development. It’s welcome, but it requires some refinement.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 21/12/23

Stats that made the case for a Māori Health Authority might also have made the case for a change of government

A decline in rates of immunisation among children in recent years – particularly among Māori children – was drawn to the attention of Point of Order while we were considering a press statement from Health Minister Shane Reti.

We were tempted to suppose that putting health in the hands of Andrew Little might have had something to do with this.

Jeffrey McNeill: The RMA is dead, long live the RMA

Why NZ’s resource laws won’t change overnight after this election

RMA – three letters that have struck fear into a generation of farmers, developers, politicians and anyone building a house. Or so legend would have it.

Whatever its original goal of promoting sustainable management of natural and physical resources, the Resource Management Act (RMA) has long been dogged by claims of unnecessary and inefficient rules that strangle innovation and progress.

Point of Order: Parker resigns as Revenue Minister

Stamps himself as a politician of principle

New Zealanders should be standing up and giving a round of applause to a politician who this week set himself apart in the House of Representatives as a person of principle. Such politicians are highly uncommon these days, so Point of Order will be leading the cheering for David Parker who this week resigned as Minister of Revenue because the Prime Minister had over-ruled him and dismissed the plan to introduce a wealth tax “while I am Prime Minister”.

Stuart Smith: RMA Looks Like a “Step Towards Tribalism”

I attended the Taxpayers Union’s ‘Stop Central Planning Committees’ meeting in Blenheim recently. Kudos to the Taxpayers Union for raising awareness about David Parker’s RMA reform bills which propose the establishment of 15 ‘Regional Planning Committees’ (RPCs). These RPCs – co-governed and required to give effect to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – will significantly diminish the planning responsibilities of democratically elected councils.

Graham Adams: “Co-governance for your deck!”

An effective campaign against the RMA reforms will be a nightmare for Hipkins.

After a Budget that failed to excite voters and a lacklustre party conference where his senior colleagues faintly praised him for his proletarian taste in food, the very last thing Chris Hipkins needs is a light shone on the vexed topic of co-governance.

An aficionado apparently not only of sausage rolls but also of spaghetti on toast (according to Kelvin Davis and Grant Robertson respectively), the Prime Minister is no doubt still hoping he can steer the election debate almost entirely towards “bread-and-butter” issues. Unfortunately for him, raising awareness of the co-governance provisions in the new RMA replacement legislation going through Parliament is central to the Taxpayers’ Union’s latest national campaign. With the title “Hands Off Our Homes!”, the roadshow will take in 30 towns and cities over three weeks, after beginning with a meeting last Monday in Christchurch.

Bryce Wilkinson: Yet more government contempt for New Zealand's democracy

This morning’s newspapers carried a full-page open letter from 42,576 signatories pointing out how undemocratic is one aspect of the Government’s three waters legislation.

The Government’s Bill confiscates local communities’ investment in water assets without compensation, and wrecks their future governance.

The letter focuses on the veto power the Government’s Bill gives to an unelected and unaccountable elite. The Bill gifts them 50% of the votes on issues that need a 75% majority to be implemented. This provision invites, even compels, extortionate demands.

Roger Partridge: New planning regime worse monster than RMA

According to Greek legend, the Chimera was a monstrous fire-breathing creature with three heads. It is usually depicted as a lion with the head of a goat protruding from its back and a tail with the head of a snake.

“Chimeric” may prove an apt description for the trifecta of new statutes Environment Minister David Parker proposes as successors to the existing Resource Management Act.

Introduced into Parliament last week, the proposed new statutes are, respectively, a new 810-page Natural and Built Environment Act, a modest 46-page Spatial Planning Act, and a yet-to-be-released Climate Adaptation Act. These statutes will be supported by detailed National and Regional Plans that must comply with a yet-to-be-developed National Planning Framework.