Baldock Larry: Resource Management and Electricity Legislation Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Baldock Larry: Resource Management and Electricity Legislation Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:622;Page:17977] 
LARRY BALDOCK (United Future) 
: 
 I am very very happy to rise on behalf of United Future and happy to see this day when we introduce this Resource Management and Electricity Legislation Amendment Bill because it is another step forward in the process of reforming the Resource Management Act and of making it more business-friendly and also more environmentally sound in the management of our resources. 
When the 47th Parliament convened more than 2 years ago United Future made it clear to the Government that we considered reform of the Resource Management Act to be a priority. When the Government asked us for our support to pass the legislation known as the Resource Management Bill (No 2) which had been sitting on the Order Paper for more than 3 years we gave it our support. 
That legislation sat on the Order Paper throughout the entire parliamentary term before this one and although it could have been passed if National had worked constructively with the Government it sat here stalled completely. The Green Party of course saw to the fact that it was stalled. It was stuck until United Future arrived into this Parliament and began to work constructively to improve the Resource Management Act. We had to accept some omissions from that bill to get it passed. We are not going to hold out for everything we want. We are prepared to work for some common-sense improvements as long as they are heading in the right direction. 
The Hon Nick Smith mentioned in his speech that some of the amendments dropped from the original bill introduced by National in 1999 are now appearing in this one. The member should be very happy because that is the long-term approach that United Future takes. We do not get everything all the time but if we keep working constructively with the Government ultimately we achieve improvements that are of benefit to the country and to the business community. The Greens National and New Zealand First had 3 years to work on that bill but they did not. 
When we gave our support to the legislation we received a great deal of criticism in the House. At the time there was much criticism until the references to spiritual beliefs cultural landscapes and ancestral landscapes had been dropped. Even then the National Party spokesperson on the environment was willing to admit that it was a pretty good bill. We passed it and we were ready to move on to more amendments. That was not the end of the matter and we have continuously hounded reminded urged and pushed the Government to further reform the Resource Management Act process. However reforming the Resource Management Act is a process that requires balance. 
The speaker before me from the ACT party gave a very curious speech really. 
Gerrard Eckhoff 
: No it was the Greens. 
LARRY BALDOCK 
: Before the Green member spoke the ACT member said that this bill would be all about fast tracking projects. Then he said that everything—every small project—should be fast tracked and he spoke about the need to protect the environment. He then spoke about the need for people to have their rights recognised and to be compensated and that is a very curious balance. That is what the Resource Management Act is trying to do. It is trying to find a balance between environmental protection people’s rights and the need to move our economy forward and do sustainable development—as the member has said. 
Additional funding which the Government has recently provided to improve the tracking systems and additional judges have led to a marked improvement in the operation of the Environment Court reducing the waiting list down to as little as 3 to 6 months for decisions in most cases. We commend the Government for that. That move alone has been hugely significant in reducing the number of vexatious and frivolous objections yet there is still more that could be done. 
Members will remember the passage of the Resource Management (Waitaki Catchment) Amendment Bill which was a very interesting and informative process. It gave many insights into possible amendments that could be useful in the main Resource Management Act and some of those experiences have been brought into this legislation. It certainly highlighted the need to address consent and resource allocation processes in the light of national-interest tests which will occur reasonably frequently as we upgrade and add much-needed infrastructure across the country. The Transpower upgrade of the national grid is one example and there is the construction of roads rail networks and power generation projects to cite others. We had a lot of discussions with the Government and in particular with the Associate Minister for the Environment and officials from the Ministry for the Environment and we concluded that the next reform needed to focus on the process rather than amendments to Part 2 of the bill—the major foundations of the Resource Management Act. 
That brings me to this bill the Resource Management and Electricity Legislation Amendment Bill. The purpose of the bill is to further improve the working of the Resource Management Act and also to amend the Electricity Act. It is the culmination of a 4-month review of the Resource Management Act which focused on improving the quality of decisions and processes—that is reducing uncertainty unnecessary delays costs and abuse of processes without sacrificing robust environmental outcomes or public participation. 
Research on eight major projects has shown that it took approximately 6 to 8 months for the council process—and an average cost of $0.6 million to the applicant—for the hearing process. That period was in addition to an average period of 2 years at an average cost of $1.3 million for the applicant to develop a proposal and prepare applications. All projects were appealed to the Environment Court adding an average period of 16 months at an average cost of $1.4 million. That is not acceptable for our economy and for our business community and it is why this legislation is designed to help improve and speed up that process. 
As I said earlier recent improvements in the Environment Court have substantially reduced the time of delays on appeals and are likely to have flow-on effects for costs. Applicants have expressed concern about third parties who delay consultation processes make ill-informed submissions make vexatious or frivolous appeals and are not accountable for the cost or delay they cause to the approval processes. Anecdotal evidence indicated inconsistencies between councils in their processes and decisions. There are perceptions that decision making can be biased and in some cases that decision makers themselves lack the relevant skills and knowledge. 
The key measure in the bill that will focus on those outcomes is the establishment of a requirement that the majority membership of hearing panels is accredited for hearing resource consents private plan changes designations and heritage orders. We welcome this move because there is an expectation that elected officials or others who sit on consents and hearing panels have the skills necessary to make decisions that are consistent across the country. As an elected council member myself in 2001 I know I had a huge amount to learn about the Resource Management Act and I would have benefited tremendously from going through such an accreditation programme. I believe this move will be welcomed by local government bodies around the country. 
The bill also focuses on empowering all hearing panels with more inquisitorial powers thereby increasing the robustness of the first local authority hearing. Limiting appeals to the Environment Court to testing the merits of the first hearing is a very good move indeed instead of simply repeating the hearing through the de novo process. The bill will also provide new mechanisms for non-local decision making which will build on existing ministerial call-in processes. 
The bill addresses many other things and I look forward to those things being submitted on in the select committee stage where I am sure that we will make many many amendments and improvements to this legislation in its draft form. 
This bill which is eagerly awaited by the business community Resource Management Act practitioners planners and local government politicians and staff will be welcome today as we pass it through its first reading. United Future is pleased to have played an important role in bringing this bill to the House and we will wholeheartedly support its expeditious passage through Parliament. We look forward to receiving many submissions in the select committee and despite the early report-back date we do not believe that submitters need to be concerned this will limit their opportunity for input. It simply means that because of the importance of this reform to the New Zealand economy committee members will devote extra time to ensure that it can be reported back and passed by this House as soon as possible. 
United Future made a commitment at the beginning of this term of Parliament and we intend to ensure that no action on our part will prevent the completion of that commitment before the expiry of this parliamentary term. I commend this bill to the House for referral to select committee.