Resource Management Act (RMA)

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• Separate the planning functions of councils from decisions on applications for resource consent.  This would mean that consent decisions would concentrate more on the effects of a particular application and place decision-making in the hands of individual commissioners.
• Limit the fees that councils can charge for consents, meaning that councils would be using ratepayers’ money for challenging development and would come under greater pressure to do so only when they were serving the public interest.
• Widen the scope for the Environment Court to award costs against councils and other objectors to resource consents when their objections were not sustained by the Court.
• Increase the right to compensation for those whose land values are reduced by council planning decisions.
• Clarify that the only harms and benefits that should be considered are those that relate to human welfare, and that “intrinsic values” are not to be considered. (more here)

• Uphold the core principles of environmental protection and public participation.
• Ensure better enforcement of consent conditions by councils.
• Support local decision making with National Policy Statements and Environmental Standards. (more here)

• Labour will investigate a National Policy statement for Housing under the RMA.
• Labour will review council infrastructure levies to ensure they appropriately price infrastructure provided in housing developments.
• Labour will work with local authorities to ensure that new housing developments are closely connected with other core infrastructure to reduce the costs of the development.
• Labour will work with local government to develop legislation which gives them the ability to increase the amount of social and affordable housing in new housing developments.
• Labour will ensure that all developments on Crown land such as Hobsonville include a percentage of social and affordable housing. Labour will champion high quality urban design. We will give local government the tools to drive better design of our built environment, not only downtown but in every suburb and neighbourhood.
• Labour will find new ways to work together with housing sector actors, and leadership to improve urban planning and regulating. Labour will provide that leadership,listening to stakeholders, making their Kiwi dream more possible.
• Labour is committed to the Tamaki Transformation programme and Housing New Zealand's community renewal programmes. (more here)

• Amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) to enable the delegation of decision-making powers to hapū and iwi and enable the establishment of partnerships between iwi and councils.
• Resource hapū and iwi to develop iwi resource management plans for their territories, and that such plans, once finalised, have the power to bind local authority decision-making. (more here)

• Introduce the RMA National Policy Statement on Māori participation, including iwi/Māori management committees and treaty representation. (more here)

• Introduce a six-month statutory time limit on the consenting of medium-sized projects.
• Strengthen urban design provisions and simplify planning processes in line with the “Competitive Cities” discussion paper.
• Review the criteria that persons exercising functions and powers under the RMA are required to recognise, provide for, and have particular regard to.
• Improve the plan-making process between resource management, transport, and local government. National’s phase 2 reforms will simplify plan-making. We will ensure that planning for our communities can be done with a much simpler planning and consultation process covering resource management, transport and local government.
• Repeal and replace the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control, and Land Drainage Acts.
• Provide incentives for parties in RMA proceedings to collaborate and agree on solutions to environmental problems. (more here)

• Conduct regular reviews of the Resource Management Act's operation, and ensure that local authorities are given the necessary resources and administrative support to carry out their statutory role. (more here)
• Conduct an assessment as to the environmental impact of particular activities on specific land and soil types, and use the RMA to zone and manage accordingly (e.g. certain pumice soils in the central North Island and certain alluvial flood plains in the South Island are not suitable for dairying);
• Continue to ensure that the Resource Management Act is a balanced piece of enabling legislation by requiring a biennial review of its operation with regard to the costs, delays and uncertainty faced by users;
• Require the Ministry for the Environment to monitor and benchmark Regional Authorities’ administration of the Resource Management Act. (more here)