Govt doesn’t have the numbers for RMA reform

Stuff reports:

Government coalition partners have successfully stopped an overhaul of planning laws.

The Maori Party and UnitedFuture MP Peter Dunne teamed up to oppose reforms of the Resource Management Act (RMA), saying it placed economic growth ahead of environmental protection.

National needed either party’s vote to get the legislation over the line.

This afternoon, Prime Minister John Key confirmed negotiations had stalled and he had “parked up” the reforms until after the general election in September.

“I think it is very unlikely we will introduce the RMA bill before the election,” he said.

“I think we will campaign on what we want to do and see what the makeup [of Parliament] looks like, whether we are the Government after the election. I’ve decided to park it up.”

This is very disappointing as further reform is definitely needed. But a reality of MMP, that governments do not always get the numbers.

Hopefully the election will deliver a result that will allow the RMA reforms to proceed, so that it strikes a better balance.