Connell Brian: Resource Management and Electricity Legislation Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Connell Brian: Resource Management and Electricity Legislation Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee 
[Volume:627;Page:22315] 
BRIAN CONNELL (National—Rakaia) 
: 
 The singularly most important issue for this Parliament to deal with in this term was the reform of the Resource Management Act and the Government has made a hash of it. Under this legislation the Resource Management Act is not being reformed at all. People were calling for simplification. They believe that the genesis of the Resource Management Act is right but the execution has been appalling and they are looking for a vehicle to enable them to get on and develop their primary areas of interest and infrastructure development in a sustainable way and this bill does not allow that to happen. What we had in its stead until yesterday was a 94-clause bill. We now have a Supplementary Order Paper that increases the number of those clauses to about 134 yet we have had very little time to consult and discuss those as a Parliament. I think that members will agree in their heart of hearts that that is not the way to make good law. 
Pansy Wong 
: Apart from United Future. 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: United Future seems to think it is OK but the majority of members do not think it is the right approach. The Hon Richard Prebble made reference to this in his valedictory speech and I totally agree with him. If we are to pass good law we need the time to understand exactly what it is that we are passing. I defy any member of this House to have picked up a 34-page Supplementary Order Paper read it understood all of the detail and be in a position today to make an intelligent contribution to this debate that will stand close scrutiny. 
The Minister in the chair the Hon David Benson-Pope has made a couple of statements via the press that do not stand close scrutiny either. He has said that the Government has consulted business and business has said that the Resource Management Act is not its No. 1 priority. I know that he has taken a very narrow definition of what business is. I know that Federated Farmers believes that reform of the Resource Management Act is the No. 1 priority. If we talk to any developer or anyone trying to provide infrastructure they will tell us that reform of the Resource Management Act is absolutely their No. 1 priority. 
It is not as if the Government did not have prior notice of this importance. It commissioned the Al Dunn report. Some members might recall that report which identified 162 compliance issues. Of that number 42 related specifically to the Resource Management Act. The Government’s own report stated that 42 of the most significant compliance issues facing New Zealand right at the moment relate to the Resource Management Act but what do we get apart from tinkering? Yet the Minister in the chair is trying to tell us that it is wide-reaching change. 
He also argues that the bill will strengthen the position of district and regional councils. I remind him and other members of the recent decision on Blue Mountain Lumber. The local council and the regional council approved that timber mill on the Coromandel. It was rolled by the Environment Court. The Minister in the chair should take a call and explain to the Committee how this legislation will strengthen the powers of regional and district councils when they can make a decision having received and looked at all of the evidence in detail yet that decision can be overturned by the Environment Court. 
Blue Mountain Lumber is just an example of a forestry industry in free fall through no fault of its own. All the industry experts in forestry accept that the way to trade out of their current problems is through midsize processing. They all accept that but guess how many mills have been built in this country in the last 2 years under the Resource Management Act? Zilch zero.