EDS releases concerning assessment of RMA reform proposals
EDS will continue to engage in good faith as detailed policy development continues at pace.
EDS has released its comprehensive analysis of the Government's proposals for a new resource management system and, overall, finds the design concerning.
In March, the Government's Expert Advisory Group (EAG) released its recommendations for a new resource management system. The release included a table with Cabinet's high-level responses.
'EDS has added to the table, so it now shows the key recommendations of the EAG, Cabinet's decisions on them, and EDS's position, colour-coded to reflect our assessment of the risk to the environment,' said EDS RM Reform Director Dr Greg Severinsen.
'Some of the recommendations are likely to improve the existing system. For example, it's positive to see a commitment to the need for clear environmental limits, not just a system that continually balances development with environment – although a lot will depend on their scope and detailed design. It's also positive to see spatial planning or constraints mapping feature as a tool for signalling where development should proceed and where it should not.
'Many proposed changes to the mechanics of the system also look good. There are measures to make planning simpler and faster (including a national e-planning portal), and for fewer and more consistent plans. Stronger compliance monitoring and enforcement provisions look promising too.
'However, the EAG's recommendations and related Cabinet decisions reveal considerable risks to the environment. Fundamental changes will be needed in some key areas to make the new laws acceptable.
'For example, a system that's limited to managing just the 'externalities' of land uses would fail to address some of the most pressing resource management issues we face, like restoring degraded environments, or creating well-functioning urban environments. We strongly disagree that the central purpose of land use law is 'the need to protect a person's use and enjoyment of their land'.
'Further, a broad framework for regulatory takings, where controls more stringent than national standards would trigger a presumption of compensation, would disincentive local environmental protections even when required to protect a threatened species. This is an especially egregious concept that needs to be dumped.
'There are other risks that could be minimised through careful legislative design. For example, splitting the RMA into two statutes for 'planning' and 'environment', while not a great idea, could be made to work if both Acts are properly integrated. If they aren't, we could see extremely concerning outcomes like environmental protections being made subservient to development or excluded from land-use decisions. There's still a lot of confusion about how the two statutes would work.
'Our table identifies several other risks, including that a new permissive regime could unfold without first identifying high value areas deserving of protection, and in the absence of an independent regulator to ensure evidence based limit-setting and appropriate checks in the system.
'Overall, while we agree the RMA requires reform, there are elements here that could steer us completely in the wrong direction. If the Fast-track Approvals Act is any indication of where we are heading, there are good reasons to be seriously concerned. Replacing the RMA needs careful, thoughtful, nuanced thinking and we have seen little of that for the fast-track process.
'The speed of policy development is another concern: fast law is often bad law. What we don't need is another round of repeal and replacement when the government changes, but that will be the likely outcome if this isn't done right.
'EDS will continue to engage in good faith as detailed policy development continues at pace,' concluded Dr Severinsen.
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NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
Love this City: Helipads, Pukekohe soil, Dominion Rd buses, Monte Cecilia dogs and more
The court should be able to decide this quickly. If it rules in the council's favour, the couple will have to halt their plans. But if it rules for the Mowbray-Williams project, the council will draft a plan change to make it 'explicitly clear' private helipads in the suburbs are a 'non-complying activity'. If adopted, that will make them extremely difficult to approve. On Thursday, the council opted for this 'non-complying' route, instead of full prohibition as proposed by councillors Mike Lee and Kerrin Leoni. Lee believes he was 'ambushed' and the vote was a 'stitch-up', which will achieve little. But his colleagues voted against him, 15-7. They had several reasons for doing this and they all boil down to the same thing: they believe Lee's approach was doomed to fail but their approach could succeed. I'll be analysing this in full next week, but briefly: The council does not have the power simply to ban something on the spot. There's a legal process to follow and it usually takes about two years, perhaps double that if there are appeals. Some councillors said it was misleading for anyone to claim a vote this week would achieve that ban right now, or that it would stop Mowbray and Williams. The hearing into the Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' helipad application was heard by commissioners Dr Hilke Giles (left), chairman Kitt Littlejohn and David Hill. Also, some councillors believe there are parts of some suburbs where a private helipad might be permitted. Definitely not in Westmere, they were completely united on that. But remote Hillsborough cliffs above the Manukau Harbour and remote parts of Howick were both mentioned. More significantly, councillors know the RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has instructed councils not to make any new plan changes because he has the whole act under review. They believe he will not allow a plan change to ban private helipads outright, but he might allow an exemption to make them non-complying. There's also a cost issue: a prohibition plan change could cost the council $1.5 million. Councillor Josephine Bartley had a question for one of the council officials in the meeting: 'Is it fair to say that it's a $1.5m risk for something we already know is not likely? That we won't win?' 'Yes, that's fair,' said planning manager Phill Reid. Councillors voted for the option they thought had the best chance of succeeding, and against the option they thought was, in effect, full of sound and fury, but signified nothing. But it's election time and several councillors are staking out their positions. Paving over Pukekohe paradise Vegetable grower Allan Fong with his elite soil land at Pukekohe. Photo / Trefor Ward The Government is proposing to amend the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL) to remove the protections on 'class 3 soils' that prevent their 'inappropriate land use and development'. It will mean more city in the countryside. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop argues these soils are not as valuable as is commonly thought and there will still be adequate protection for the soils that are genuinely valuable for crops and other agricultural land uses. The NPS was introduced by the Labour Government in 2022; public consultation on the proposed changes closes this Sunday and a decision will follow soon. Soil experts have been making a last-gasp appeal for a rethink. 'The proposal is poorly considered and, if it goes through, would be an irreversible blunder of inter-generational scale, for multiple reasons,' says David Lowe, an emeritus professor of earth sciences at the University of Waikato. 'Future generations ... are being robbed of the potential productivity of versatile soils by people with a vested interest. The Luxon-led coalition Government has an ethical, moral and legal obligation to provide for future as well as current generations.' NZ Society of Soil Science president Pierre Roudier says class 3 soil 'represents the backbone of New Zealand's food and fibre production and high-value exports'. It makes up two-thirds of the land currently protected under the NPS-HPL and supports a wide range of primary production, ranging from dairy and arable farming to viticulture and horticulture. 'Contrary to popular myth,' says Lowe, 'New Zealand does not have large areas of highly productive soils.' Class 1 soils make up only 0.7% of productive soils and class 2 another 4.5%. 'The high-value soils of the Pukekohe-Bombay area have been facing 'death by a thousand cuts' over the past few decades under housing pressure,' he says. The area includes only 3.8% of New Zealand's total horticultural land but it produces 26% by value of our vegetables. Already in Auckland and Waikato, Lowe says, around 33% of the best land has been lost to urban expansion and the process is accelerating. He wants the proposed NPS changes abandoned. Roudier isn't so categoric. 'Research shows that the most pressing issue on HPL is residential lifestyle development, significantly more so than edge-of-city expansion,' he says. Lifestyle blocks, not new subdivisions. 'This type of development breaks up productive farmland into smaller, disconnected parcels, which not only makes the land harder to farm efficiently but also introduces new pressures because of 'reverse sensitivity' (when new residents in rural areas object to normal farming activities, leading to restrictions on farms).' People move to the country, then complain about the country (the same thing happens in central cities). RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. Photo / Calvin Samuel, RNZ Bishop doesn't necessarily intend to remove protections on all class 3 land. The regulatory impact statement on his proposals outlines four policy options, with complete removal being one of them. Roudier supports a 'more balanced option' that would allow councils to enable urban growth on class 3 land but protect it from lifestyle blocks. 'This targeted approach would support housing goals near urban areas,' he says, 'without opening the door to uncontrolled sprawl across the wider countryside'. Quality soils are a long time in the making. Typically, says Lowe, the timespan is 10,000 to 20,000 years. Some take 50,000 years or even longer: the elite soils of Pukekohe have taken several hundred thousand years to develop. Once gone, they're really gone. Halfway down Dominion Rd and stuck Dominion Rd is one of the busiest roads in Auckland. Photo / Alex Burton Auckland Transport wants to extend the bus lane hours on Dominion Rd and the business association is not happy. They may have Mayor Wayne Brown to contend with. Brown has identified road efficiency as one of his key transport expectations. That means doing everything possible to allow traffic on the city's arterials to flow smoothly. 'Smart' traffic lights that give buses priority and recognise and respond to traffic build-ups. The removal of car parks that block peak-time traffic. The use of 'dynamic' centre lanes, which change direction according to the morning and evening demand. On Dominion Rd, which is narrower than most arterials, the key is to keep those bus lanes moving. AT, supported by the Albert-Eden Local Board, isn't proposing anything drastic, like 24-hour bus lanes. All it wants to do is have the peak times start at 3pm instead of 4pm. One hour earlier, which recognises the build-up of school traffic. The Dominion Rd Business Association wants this 'immediately cancelled'. It says the move is 'a premature and economically damaging decision that threatens the livelihood of local businesses'. The bus lanes opened in 2015 and have been instrumental in preventing congestion from creating complete gridlock on the street. Four years earlier, AT predicted that extending the hours would not be necessary until 2041. But in 2011, AT did not reckon with the extent of population or vehicle build-up of the past 25 years. Gary Holmes, manager of the association, says: 'We are utterly dismayed by Auckland Transport's short-sighted proposal. The 2011 report clearly indicated that extending these hours to 3pm was a decades-away prospect, based on future demand. We do not believe the current traffic numbers in 2025 warrant it happening a decade and a half earlier than originally suggested.' Halfway down Dominion Rd, people stuck in traffic may beg to differ. Two things about making bus priority lanes more efficient: it works, and it's one of the cheapest things the council can do to improve traffic flows. There are still many more car parks for shoppers and retail staff in the streets all around that area. More savings at council Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson with the boss. Photo / Alyse Wright The council has an ongoing programme to 'deliver better value', which means finding ways to cut spending. It's run by the Revenue, Expenditure and Value Committee, chaired by Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, and adheres to 10 'better value project principles' set out by the Mayor. After the committee's latest meeting, Simpson reports: 'We have halted several projects to reassess costs, which has seen several repriced considerably lower. This includes the Paremuka Dam culverts in Henderson, where the council retendering the project's contract reduced the construction cost from $3.4 million to $1.9m – saving $1.4m from the focus on value for money.' Staff have also stopped work on two other projects, Milford Marina and Long Bay footbridges, 'to enable costs to be reassessed and delivered lower'. Project manager Mark Townshend says: 'We want all staff consistently applying the principles to their work, so we see every ratepayer dollar used to deliver greater value across our projects.' Townshend says they do around 25 'health checks' in parks and community facilities each month, to see if the better value principles are being applied well. 'Supplier performance workshops are also under way, which enables us to partner with our suppliers to provide better value projects for our communities.' The mayor says the principles have saved $43.2m to date, which equates to not raising rates by 1.8%. Monte Cecilia Park: Dogs can roam, for now Dogs and their owners in the bowl of Monte Cecilia Park, where debate continues over whether dogs should be allowed off-leash. Photo / Owen McMahon Dog Lovers of Monte Cecilia, which says it represents more than 500 dog owners and allies, has gained an interim order from the High Court preventing the Puketāpapa Local Board from enforcing its on-leash policy. A full judicial review is to follow. Monte Cecilia Park is a very beautiful park between Three Kings and Hillsborough, with a large bowl in the middle that can't be used for sports, formal or informal, and has been for many years an off-leash area for dogs. The local board vote revealed a clear political divide. Community & Residents members on the right voted to remove the off-leash status; City Vision members on the left wanted it preserved. C&R has a one-vote majority, but City Vision has 88% of public submissions, a 1000-signature petition and the advice of council staff on its side. The board's decision 'unfairly penalises responsible dog owners and undermines the wellbeing of both dogs and the wider community', the Dog Lovers group said. 'We are committed to ensuring that Monte Cecilia Park remains a safe and welcoming shared space for all Aucklanders.' Board member Jon Turner, who is now a City Vision candidate for a ward seat on the governing body of council, says: 'Communities & Residents members ran on a platform of listening to the community, yet they have twice disregarded overwhelming public sentiment and clear staff advice.' C&R, for its part, is understood to be concerned about the views of some of the residents in a nearby retirement village. Warkworth development heading to court Map of the land Arvida wants the council to rezone for urban development. The yellow area is the proposed site of its new retirement village. The main Warkworth township is below the river at the bottom of the map; the golf course is to the upper right. Next month, the Environment Court will hear an appeal against the council's decision in March to block a private plan change allowing land development in Warkworth. The plan change is sought by the company Arvida, which wants to build a 198-unit retirement village on the edge of town. The council wasn't opposed to the village but objected to Arvida wanting 140ha to be rezoned. Arvida owns 55 of those 140ha. It plans to build on 22 of them and sell the remaining 33. That, as Mayor Wayne Brown said in March, casts Arvida as a land banker: it had bought a larger site than it needed and with the rezoning in place would be able to sell parts of it for a substantial profit. 'Why don't they just build the retirement village?' Brown said. The court hearing comes after talks broke down between the company and the council. Arvida says it wants the whole site rezoned to allow 'a more co-ordinated, master-planned approach to the land', which would 'address the growing and future demand for retirement housing in the area'. Arvida chief executive Jeremy Nicoll describes the process as 'frustrating'. The company believes the council was wrong to block the plan-change request, in part because that prevented 'a fair public hearing'. 'The plan change area adjoins the existing Warkworth urban area, is well connected to Warkworth's many amenities and will integrate with existing and planned infrastructure,' he says. 'This appeal is necessary because due process must be followed when it comes to making important decisions about New Zealand's urgent housing needs.' In March, Brown made his position clear: the council is empowered to make these decisions, and it would continue to do what it considered right, even under threat of legal action. To sign up for Simon Wilson's weekly newsletter, click here, select Love this City and save your preferences. For a step-by-step guide, click here.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Scoop
EDS Submissions Highlight Serious Concerns Over Government's Resource Management Changes
The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) has today filed its very extensive submissions on the Government's review of national direction under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The proposals, which are spread across three packages of Infrastructure and Development, Primary Sector and Freshwater, present an overwhelming shift towards prioritising use and development at the expense of the natural environment. National direction is the 'engine room' of the RMA. Regional policy statements and regional and district plans must 'give effect' to it and decision-makers on resource consent applications must 'have regard' to it. It therefore has significant ramifications for resource management decision-making. 'Taken together, the changes set out pose a significant risk to indigenous biodiversity, freshwater, wetlands, elite soils and the coastal marine environment. They will result in more inappropriate and environmentally damaging activities occurring in New Zealand's most sensitive places,' says EDS Chief Operating Officer and lawyer, Shay Schlaepfer. 'The environment is not in a healthy state. Monitoring shows ongoing declines in freshwater quality, more threatened and at risk species, a reduction in food producing land, continued loss of remaining wetlands and a marine environment under threat. 'The proposals are wilfully ignorant of that context. They are being pushed through under a 'growth at all costs' mentality that will result in more pollution for longer and more destruction of nature. This is not what the RMA provides for. 'EDS's key concerns with the proposals are: 1. Forestry review too narrow: The proposed changes fail to address systemic issues with forestry regulations which are resulting in extensive and damaging slash and sedimentation mobilisation events with corresponding devastating impacts on receiving environments and communities. 2. Infrastructure proposal lacks environmental considerations: The Government's expansive vision for infrastructure and development comes with no corresponding focus on protecting the natural environment. 3. Increased mining and quarrying in sensitive areas: The proposed changes will facilitate more mining and quarrying activities, directly threatening New Zealand's indigenous biodiversity, vulnerable wetlands and highly productive land. 4. Freshwater management at risk: The proposed changes would unwind decades of freshwater management progress, undermining hard-won legal protections in favour of short-term economic interests. 5. Natural hazards not taken seriously: A gaping hole in the proposals is any regulation to stop building in high hazards areas. If New Zealand is to get real about climate adaptation it needs to prioritise not making the situation worse in the first place. 'The review of national direction is being undertaken before replacement resource management laws are enacted in 'phase 3' of the Government's programme of RMA reform. Progressing substantial national direction review under a regime that is to be replaced, and then implementing those new instruments in a new regime which Ministers describe as being radically different, is a confusing, unstructured and backwards approach. 'This has been exacerbated by Minister Bishop's recent 'plan stop' announcement which has compounded uncertainty about how the package of national direction changes will be implemented. The Government needs to stop rushing and progress resource management reform on a more strategic, coherent footing. 'Most importantly, Government needs to acknowledge that economic growth and good environmental outcomes are both achievable. EDS's submissions propose changes to the policy settings which would bring the instruments into a more acceptable and lawful outcome,' concluded Ms Schlaepfer. Environmental Defence Society EDS speaks for the environment. It has influence. Since 1971, EDS has been driving environmental protection in Aotearoa New Zealand through law and policy change. That's why it's one of this country's most influential non- profit organisations when it comes to achieving better environmental outcomes. EDS has expertise in key disciplines including law, planning, landscape and science. It operates as a policy think-tank, a litigation advocate, and a collaborator – bringing together the private and public sectors for constructive engagement. EDS runs conferences and seminars on topical issues, including an annual Environmental Summit and the Climate Change and Business Conference. EDS is a registered charity and donations to it are tax-deductible.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
David Apatang sworn in as CNMI's 11th governor
David Mundo Apatang was sworn in by Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro as the CNMI's 11th governor on 24 July at the Governor's Office conference room in Saipan. Photo: Facebook / Mariana Press David Mundo Apatang was sworn as the CNMI's 11th governor early this morning, July 24, at the Governor's Office conference room on Capitol Hill. The 77-year-old Vietnam War veteran was sworn in by Chief Justice Alexandro Castro. He succeeds the late governor Arnold Palacios, who suddenly passed last July 23 after being medically evacuated to Guam earlier in the day. During the emotional swearing in, which was held in front of Cabinet members, lawmakers, and Apatang's family, the former lieutenant governor's voice cracked several times as the raw emotion of Palacios' passing the day before overcame him. Apatang paused a few seconds and struggled to say "governor" after Castro asked him to repeat the words, "I will faithfully and honestly discharge my duties as the governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to the best of my ability, so help me God." Castro then hugged Apatang after the oath-taking with tears and sorrow palpable in both their faces. Apatang then addressed the assembled crowd at the packed Governor's Office conference room that now he commands. "Today (Thursday) is a very sad day. It's really hard to express what happened. Actually, you know, when we started this journey, we weren't expecting it to be like this," he said. Apatang said, like many in the Commonwealth over a rainy evening and early morning, he wasn't able to sleep. Commenting on his relationship with his predecessor, Apatang said he and Palacios didn't always see eye to eye, but there was always mutual respect and admiration. "Just like my inaugural speech, if you look back, I always say that if there's any difference between myself and the governor, it always comes up to working together at the end for the Commonwealth and our people. "My heart goes out to the family, first lady Wella, and their children. We will be working on an arrangement for the governor's arrival and his state funeral." Apatang then promised to carry on Palacios' work, saying, "We will continue to work together to follow his dreams and accomplish what we need to do for our people, just like he wants to do. That's exactly what we're going to do." With a Cabinet meeting set after the oathtaking, followed on Friday by a meeting with special assistants, Apatang reached out to the Legislature to help him plan for Palacios' state funeral. The swearing in ended with the new governor taking a group photo with his family before being congratulated by dozens of well-wishers. A couple of hours later at the same place, Senate President Dennis James Camacho Mendiola was sworn in as the CNMI's 14th lieutenant governor. Castro again administered the oath of office while Mendiola's son, Brian, held the Bible. Mendiola's wife is currently in Washington. In an impromptu speech after he was sworn in, Mendiola said his ascension to the post of lieutenant governor is not a time for celebration. "It's unprecedented time, of course. Nobody expected [us] to be here. It's not time for celebration. It's time for mourning for our late governor, and we're going to go ahead and respect that." Mendiola, a former commissioner of the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services and former special assistant of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, extended his condolences to the family of Palacios. He also admitted to having a heavy heart in accepting his new post. "I can go ahead and say that it's a constitutional mandate that I ascend. So, I'm going to go ahead and take this responsibility and, you know, work with the governor to ensure that we push a lot of these, you know, this situation that the CNMI is facing forward in the best interest of our people." In a light moment, Mendiola said he doesn't mind being scolded by Apatang since the latter earlier said that he would often scold Palacios when they had arguments because he was older by eight years. Apatang also said he has requested Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero to expedite the death certificate for Palacios so the CNMI community can pay their respects to the late governor. As per the CNMI Constitution, the Senate presidency now goes to Karl King-Nabors, the former Senate vice president. King-Nabors said despite their differences, he always respects Palacios and extended his heartfelt condolences to first lady Wella and the rest of the family. "These are difficult times. We're a small community. Regardless of the difficulties or whatever perceived misunderstandings we might have, or misalignments, unalignment with our political agendas, we feel the loss of our community." He said, for now, Senator Donald Manglona remains floor leader with the Senate reorganisation awaiting the return of senators Celina Babauta and Corina Magofna, who are both off-island. King-Nabors added that former senator Paul Manglona is expected to take over the vacated seat of Mendiola. "My understanding of it is that it is the last, most recent election's highest vote getter, so that would be senator Paul [will be returning] to the Senate," he said.
