RMA review
Business and environmental groups find failings
The Resource Management Act has failed to live up to expectations protecting New Zealand’s environment, according to a report just out which calls for sweeping reforms.
Evaluating the Environmental Outcomes of the RMA was written by the Environmental Defence Society, New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development and the Property Council, evaluating whether the 25-yearold law had delivered desired environment outcomes for New Zealand.
“This report concludes that the environmental outcomes of the RMA have not met expectations, largely as a result of poor implementation but also due to a wide range of other factors,” it says.
“The challenge is far from dissipating. Projected population and economic growth will only sharpen pressures on the environment and restructuring of economic systems will be required to achieve genuine
While aspirations were high, the outcomes have not ultimately reflected the desires set down in 1991. RMA report
sustainability,” the report said.
“While aspirations were high, the outcomes have not ultimately reflected the desires set down in 1991. Overall, the implementation of the RMA has been weak.
“The oversight body, the Ministry for the Environment, has been historically quite remiss in adjudicating the implementation of the RMA and many regional councils have been slow to hold their district and city councils to account.
“While there are signs of improvement, much more focus is required.”
Report author and Environmental Defence Society policy analyst Marie Brown said interviews reflected a frustration with the behaviour of central government, disappointment with the performance of councils and a recognition that the Act was only partly making good on its promises.
The themes outlined in the report fell clearly from the analysis; the most common being that the act had been weakly implemented through a combination of shortfalls in institutional capacity, agency capture and factors such as incorrect jurisprudence.
“Overall, the key take-home message is that materially improved en- vironmental outcomes are unlikely to arise from the repeat fiddling we have seen with the legislation to date,” Brown told the Herald.
Acting Environment Minister Maggie Barry said the Government did not agree that, after 25 years of the RMA, its apparent shortcomings could be blamed on implementation alone.
“We have heard for years that the RMA itself is fine, but the implementation is the problem.
“We do not accept that, and that is why this Government embarked upon a two-phase reform programme in 2008 to amend the legislation and improve the operation of the RMA,” Barry said.
The second phase of the Government’s reform programme, the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill, was currently before a Select Committee, she said.
“The quality of our environment, particularly in respect of point source air and water pollution, has improved markedly under the operation of the RMA during the past 25 years.
The Government had also implemented the Environmental Reporting Act to significantly improve the quality and independent rigour applied to the collection and compilation of environmental data and monitoring.
“We have also embarked on an ambitious programme of improved national direction and guidance by way of National Policy Statements, National Environmental Standards and Regulations under the RMA,” Barry said.
Responding to Barry’s comments, Brown said the report demonstrated that the poor natural environment outcomes were caused “primarily” by weak implementation but not exclusively.
“That does not exclude matters such as urban planning and infrastructure from justifying significant structural reform,” Brown said.
“What matters is that there a platform to have a broad and integrated discussion.”