10. Question No. 10—EnvironmentHon PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for the EnvironmentQuestion No. 10—Environment10. Hon PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for the Environment: What progress has been made on repealing and replacing the Resource Management Act 1991?Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister for the Environment): The Government is making substantial progress on repealing and replacing the Resource Management Act (RMA) and is on track to do so within this parliamentary term. The RMA takes too long costs too much and does not adequately protect the environment. The RMA reforms will deliver results: plan making will be faster fewer consents will be needed and costs for approvals for housing and infrastructure will decrease significantly. Environmental outcomes will also improve. The current system is failing—business developers and environmentalists agree on this. After years and years of dithering by prior Governments it's time to repeal and replace the RMA.Hon Phil Twyford: What benefits will the repeal and replacement of the RMA deliver for New Zealanders?Hon DAVID PARKER: As I've said system process costs for developers and other people are excessive. The numbers are staggering. At the moment New Zealanders pay around $800 million a year for those consents. After the new system is in place people applying for consents are expected on a conservative estimate to save 17 percent which would be $149 million a year and the mid-range estimate puts that at $430 million per year. These excessive costs that developers are currently paying are passed on to consumers. Developers will instead be able to spend that money on housing and infrastructure rather than on consultants or filling out council paperwork.Hon Phil Twyford: What is the Government's view of the select committee reports on the Natural and Built Environment Bill and the Spatial Planning Bill?Hon DAVID PARKER: I'd like to thank the committee for the role it has played in ensuring the new legislation is robust. Around 94 percent of all submitters agreed on the need for system reform. Most major organisations were also broadly supportive of the main components of reform. Around 3000 submissions were received on the bills. I want to thank submitters who took the time and effort to submit. Reform of this nature is complex and we rely on the input of system users to get the details right. The committee have recommended a number of sensible and constructive changes to the bill and I look forward to diving into their recommendations and debating the bills with my parliamentary colleagues on all sides during the next stages of the legislative process.Hon Phil Twyford: Does the Government have any plans to reinstate the RMA at a future date?Hon DAVID PARKER: No we don't. We campaigned at the 2020 election to repeal and replace the RMA—using the Randerson model as its basis—and this Government is delivering on that promise. To reinstate the RMA after repeatedly promising for years and years to repeal and replace it would be total madness.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Point of order. Mr Speaker in light of the Minister of Finance and Minister of Housing encouraging Chris Bishop to ask a supplementary and given the restraints on them I seek leave for the National Party to have one extra supplementary question in order that that can happen.SPEAKER: Well I could put the leave I guess. I could actually award it. Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? There is objection.