Court SimonSIMON COURT (ACT): ACT believes New Zealanders should have hope about our future even though 2022's been a tough year with the cost of living crisis crime out of control in our cities and the sense that the Government is trading away New Zealanders' property rights and freshwater rights to a privileged few. However the things that matter to New Zealanders have actually changed very little over the last 50 years: that if you work hard save hard you can build or buy a family home you can raise a family or even a dog; that the natural environment and those special places that are important to New Zealanders should be protected; and that we have safe and efficient transport options to get around our cities to get between our regions and our ports and markets and even catch a bus—if it arrives on time.When I was an engineering student in the 1990s I fully expected that New Zealand would continue to get better. We would solve problems around waste and pollution fresh water and biodiversity. Our cities would grow into modern fun metros like Sydney or Melbourne and there would be affordable homes and lifestyles for people of all ages and stages of life. We would be able to get around on safe and fast freeways linking cities regions ports and actually have decent public transport which turned up on time.But since the high-water mark of personal freedom and private property rights in the 1990s things have not progressed that way for New Zealand. More and more rules limit how people can use their own land which makes housing less affordable and delivers fewer housing options for younger people starting their careers; more rules which make building vital infrastructure slow and expensive but do little to enhance the environment; more people and groups with special interests are allowed to object to vital projects like upgrading ports and building the electricity transmission lines we need to transition to a renewable energy future. Labour has proposed challenges in resource management and planning laws which will actually make these problems worse and slow down progress just at the time when we need to accelerate.That is why ACT proposes practical and sensible solutions for building New Zealand and conserving nature. We released this policy last week to give hope to young New Zealanders and the people who build New Zealand that we can be better when New Zealanders are free to make the best possible use of their property and our shared environment so we can live our best lives. ACT believes we can improve biodiversity by incentivising landowners to carry out private conservation rather than imposing blanket planning rules on private land. By adopting environmental limits and allowing water users to trade water in a market-based system fresh water can be more fairly allocated to the environment and for people. Where more water is needed to respond to climate change ACT would make building water storage a permitted activity under a new environmental protection Act. A new Urban Development Act would encourage vibrant mixed-use communities with cafes corner stores and childcare centres a permitted activity you can build as of right.Landowners who see benefits in building up would be able to vote to increase development potential above existing council limits. ACT believes that only people directly affected by development should have the right to object and rather than spending years in Environment Court begging for consents a planning disputes tribunal would be a much fairer way to determine compensation.When it comes to infrastructure New Zealand has fallen far behind countries we like to compare ourselves to. ACT believes the fairest way to fund infrastructure and to build it faster and to get more built is a user-pays system. Road pricing is much fairer than fuel taxes and would provide a dedicated funding stream for transport network operators. Smart networks in the US and Singapore actually price road use by the minute. That's how we manage down demand in other countries and provide reliable journey times.ACT believes Kiwis and especially young people should have hope as we head into Christmas and 2023. There will be a change of Government next year and with ACT playing a major role a real change in the way we build our cities and conserve nature.