RMA past use by date

Stuff reports:

The Government has started the process of “completely rethinking” the Resource Management act, Prime Minister Bill English says.

He said the act was past its use-by date. 

“We have been amending the original Resource Management Act, which was written 25 years ago, and I reckon it’s the last time,” English told a group of Auckland businesspeople.

“The Town Planning Act lasted 25 years, the Resource Management Act is 25 years old and it could be at the end of its life.”

This follows the Productivity Commission’s proposed overhaul of the Resource Management Act, something business associations have said they would welcome.

In the Productivity Commission’s final Better urban planning report, published on Wednesday, the commission makes 64 recommendations, including replacing the Resource Management Act with one law governing both the built and natural environments.

The RMA had become a point of weakness in the planning system, the commission said.

Business NZ chief executive Kirk Hope said a key aspect of the report was the distinction between built environments and natural environments. He said planning problems in cities are due to the “broad and unclear” provisions of the current Resource Management Act.

I think the Productivity Commission report provides and excellent way forward. It is time to replace the RMA, not amend it.