RMA Reforms - an Environmental Defence Society response, September 2021
1 September 2021
Media Release
EDS releases resource management reform reports
The Environmental Defence Society has been working on the reform of the resource
management system for the past 3 years. It has established that the current law is not
providing sufficient protection for the environment and has excessive process churn.
The Government has released an Exposure Draft of a new bill for scrutiny by the
Environment Select Committee and EDS is scheduled to appear before it tomorrow. In
advance, EDS is releasing four think-pieces it prepared for the Ministry for the Environment.
EDS has also released its full submission on the bill.
“We are making these reports public because they address some of the key issues arising
out of the exposure draft of the Natural and Built Environments Bill, its related discussion
paper and the proposed Strategic Planning Bill,” said EDS CEO Gary Taylor.
“The full reports are available on the EDS website. To assist readers, a summary of the
reports on Resource Management Reform was produced, which can be viewed here.
The summary comprises the following:
1. Submission on Natural and Built Environments Bill
2. Environmental Limits
3. National Direction
4. Landscape Protection
5. The Strategic Planning Act and the marine environment
“It is clear that the bill must provide better protection for our environment while
streamlining and simplifying planning processes. These objectives are entirely compatible.
We can’t afford to go backwards with environmental outcomes,” Mr. Taylor concluded.