Week Two: Background on RMA, Related Legislation, Structure of Bills Flashcards
Planning In NZ 1970s-1980s
Town and Country Planning Act 1977. Necessary activity based planning zones. Town and Country Planning Acts had existed in various forms since Towns Regulation Act 1875
New Zealand 1980s
Government considered existing planning legislation was slowing approvals, so ad hoc: National Development Act 1979 and the Clutha Development (Clyde Dam) Empowering Act 1982
Pre 1988
Main planning law was administered and carried out by Ministry of Works and Development. Multitude of laws that made it difficult to comply with as no unifying principles
Sustainable development is…
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
First Minister for the Environment
Sir Geoffrey Palmer
Resource Management Act 1991 Purposes
RMA was to provide a coherent and consistent:
- Set of principles to manage all aspects of environment and
- Laws governing land, water, air and minerals all in one package
“An Act to restate and reform the law relating to use of land, air, and water”
RMA number of parts
1991:
- 15 parts, 9 schedules (about 300 pages)
-Amended multiple times between August 91 & Sept 97. Since 1997, amended further approximately 200 times
2023:
- 24 parts, 16 schedules
- 872 pages
RMA problems - Search for better legislation
“While a major improvement on the previous system, the RMA has not sufficiently protected the natural environment.”. The Act is 32 years old and out of date with current societal, environmental & cultural changes
RMA doesn’t meet the challenges of
- Urban growth pressures (a.k.a. housing crisis)
- Climate change
- Deteriorating freshwater quality
- Diminishing biodiversity
-Slow progress on implementing Treaty principle of partnership
What went wrong with the RMA?
- The legislation
- The ways it has been implemented (planners and other professionals were asked to implement without training)
- How institutions are arranged
RMA Review panels recommendations
- Improve environmental outcomes
- Enable better timely development of urban areas and elsewhere within environmental limits
- Produce far-reaching reform for now and generations to come
- Looked, not just at RMA, but at related legislation to provide better resource management system
Future of Legislation
~ 3 Acts instead of one.
1. Environmental protection of air, water, soil, and biodiversity
2. Land use planning
3. Climate change protection
~Move back to spatial planning
Related Legislation: Land
- Land Transfer Act 2017
The registration and transfer of title to land - Property Law Act 2007
Restate, reform, and codify (in part) aspects of the law relating to real and personal property
Related Legislation: Land subdivision
- Public Works Act 1981
Acquisition of land for public works
Local Government Act 1974
- Most of this Act repealed by the Local Government Act 2002
- Pt 21 sets out provisions on roads
- Part 29 sets out provisions on land drainage and rivers clearance.
- Part 29A – divestment of land drainage schemes and water race schemes
Related Legislation: Physical environment
Building Act 2004
Regulation of building work etc to:
- Contribute to people’s safety and wellbeing and
- Ensure buildings are designed, constructed and able to be used in ways that promote sustainable development
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014
- To promote the identification, protection, preservation, and conservation of the historical and cultural heritage of New Zealand
