Benson-Pope David: Resource Management and Electricity Legislation Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Benson-Pope David: Resource Management and Electricity Legislation Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:622;Page:17965] 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Associate Minister for the Environment) 
: 
 I move  
That the Resource Management and Electricity Legislation Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 In due course I will move that this bill be referred to the Local Government and Environment Committee. 
The bill amends the Resource Management Act of 1991 in improving quality of decisions and processes while not compromising environmental outcomes or sacrificing public participation. The key objectives are to increase certainty reduce delays and costs and ensure consistency of process. The bill also proposes two amendments to the Electricity Act of 1992. 
This bill is the result of a process characterised by a close working relationship between central and local government. The development of the bill is also the culmination of extensive consultation undertaken throughout the last 18 months. We have rejected the calls of a few extreme voices that wanted to see the Resource Management Act ripped apart for the sake of unfettered development. Quite frankly that is not sensible it is not necessary; and it is not even what various elements of the community asked us for. 
As the chief executive officer of the Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry Michael Barnett noted after surveying 350 of its members: “The issue with the RMA is not so much the contents of the Act preventing development proceeding but how it is administered by local authorities.” That is because the Act is firstly about protecting the environment for future generations—something that should remain as its overriding consideration. Development at any cost is no answer at all. 
We have identified a series of issues and have come up with timely sensible and well-thought-out solutions. Legislative changes are just one part of a package of measures reflecting a stronger leadership role for central government and implementing and supporting the Resource Management Act. 
The bill addresses problems at all levels of decision making. The focus is on local democracy at the plan level where the community sets the rules while decisions at the consent level are made more robust and quasi-judicial. Local authorities and the Environment Court are to be given extra powers to run efficient inquiry-style hearings. 
I am in no doubt that the bill will achieve its aim. Indeed I was heartened by the words of the manager of regulatory services for Buller District Council Terry Archer when we announced the reform package. He simply exclaimed: “Where the hell were these things in 1991 when they introduced the Resource Management Act? It would have made it so much easier.” 
Local authorities are increasingly being asked to consider projects that raise issues of national significance in a policy environment that provides little guidance on how competing national benefits and local costs should be weighed. For the first time we will have a range of mechanisms for managing national and local interests. The bill strengthens the expression of national interest by reinforcing the role of national policy statements and national environmental standards. There will be a menu of flexible options for central government involvement including funding of an independent coordinator direction for joint council hearings and changes to the call-in process. 
District and regional plans are varied at present and in some cases are inexplicably inconsistent. This bill provides for national standards to be set absolutely when necessary throughout the country. That will reduce duplication and costs associated with producing similar standards it will increase certainty for landowners and developers when dealing with local authorities and it will reduce unnecessary compliance and regulatory costs. Jan Crawford a planner of some 30 years’ experience and an academic with Waikato University’s International Global Change Institute that studies the Resource Management Act noted that these changes were in her view long overdue. She described the greater use of national policy statements and environmental standards as “filling the hole in the doughnut—the vacuum at the centre of the RMA.” 
This bill will improve local authority decision-making on resource consents. Consultation requirements will be clarified. The role of local authorities will be simply to notify affected persons and to encourage applicants to consult rather than to consult themselves. Those improvements include training to support mandatory accreditation of members of hearing bodies targeted one-on-one assistance to local authorities in need of support and national guidance through the delivery and sharing of good practice between resource management practitioners. Pre-hearings will be encouraged and the role of consent authorities as inquisitorial bodies will be clarified. Consent authorities will have enhanced powers to direct the hearing process. 
The president of Local Government New Zealand Basil Morrison described these proposals as “a major step in the right direction”. I quote further: “As a country we need sustainable management of our physical and natural resources but we also need to protect our economic growth and prosperity by investing in new development. This is the challenge constantly faced by local government one which the Government has acknowledged with these changes.” 
Of course action has already been taken to reduce delays at the Environment Court. The number of delays in appeals to the court has been more than halved since 2001. An extra $1.2 million per year has seen an increase in the number of judges commissioners and administrative support people; yet the length and the cost of the appeal process continue to be a concern for some resource consent applicants. Current appeals to the Environment Court often duplicate processes at the consent authority hearing and allow for new issues and evidence to be raised on appeal. The court will move away from a full hearing to a focused rehearing approach that concentrates on only the matters in contention. 
The process for making plans has also been criticised as cumbersome. After 12 years some district plans have not yet been approved and others remain overly complex. This bill improves local policy and plan making. Streamlined plan-making processes will enable plans to become operative quicker and reduce compliance costs and lengthy protracted debates. District and regional plans will now have to give effect to regional policy statements and regional councils will have a more strategic role. 
The bill improves the quality of engagement with iwi authorities and is focused on plan and policy preparation processes. The Government will provide information to councils about the iwi authorities in each area or rohe. In terms of resource consents iwi will have the same opportunities to participate as any other persons affected by an activity. 
The bill also amends the Electricity Act of 1992. The amendments to sections 24 and 31 of that Act will clarify that the environmental effects of high-voltage works in the road corridor are best managed using processes under the Resource Management Act. 
We in the Government are committed to protecting and preserving the unique aspects of New Zealand’s natural environment. That means striking the right balance between our desire for a clean and healthy environment and our expectations for growth and opportunity. This bill provides for changes to the Resource Management Act and two changes to the Electricity Act. The package of improvements is about providing practical solutions and improved processes to make the law work better. By our provision of leadership and partnership with the community with business and with local government we will all get better environmental results. I commend the bill to the House.