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RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT
INTRODUCTION
The Resource Management Act (RMA) was designed to promote sustainability when managing economic development in relation to New Zealand's natural resources but, after 13 years, it requires thorough revision to improve processes and procedures, reduce compliance costs, clarify expectations and responsibilities, and to facilitate progress and protection.
Many of the problems that have arisen in relation to the RMA have been about perceived time delays in the consent process, costs, consultation requirements and lack of uniformity in how local councils approach the Act.
The focus of any amendments to the RMA must be threefold - to more strictly define and clarify the processes required to effectively adhere to the Act; to remove many of the obstacles and present frustrations which have unnecessarily become part of these processes; and to ensure that all affected parties have unhindered access to the consent process.
Changes to the RMA must be balanced against lengthy community consultation, significant ratepayer costs, and references to the Environment Court incurred by councils in formulating their publicly developed long-term plans.
Any changes to the RMA must also take cognisance of the substantial body of jurisprudence, which has emerged as a consequence of the RMA.
PLANS
In order to refine the RMA process New Zealand First will:
- further enhance the value of the pre-hearing phase by empowering councils to ensure that necessary attendance of relevant parties, that specific and agreed timelines be established, that the necessary evidence for the hearings phase be established along with the expertise required by those hearing the consent application, that those who facilitate the pre-hearings phase have a comprehensive understanding of the RMA and, that any costs required to change the pace or scope of the process be met by the party requiring that change;
- amend the RMA to require that, at the conclusion of the pre-hearings meeting, only those issues that have been defined as forming the basis of a hearing should be the subject of any further hearing;
- improve the hearings meeting process by requiring that: all applications for a hearing should be fully completed through a pre-hearings phase with all required information and agreed timelines established, only the use of those with relevant qualifications and experience, in particular the use of qualified Commissioners, should be permitted during hearings, provision for orderly cross examination should be included in the hearings phase to tease out all necessary facts, hearings should be conducted in a 'submitter friendly' context including, wherever possible, ensuring that hearings be held local to where a consent is sought; and vexatious litigants to be identified and treated as such;
- amend the RMA to set out a process allowing the combining of several local body jurisdictions for one consent process in clearly defined circumstances;
- repeal clause 8 of section 2 and remove reference to the 'principles of Treaty of Waitangi' from this legislation. We note here that in Part 2 of the RMA, where reference is made in clause 6(e) to Maori and their culture and traditions in relation to "matters of national importance", and in clause 7(a) with regard to kaitiakitanga under "other matters", that those issues of most importance to Maori are addressed;
- amend definitions, particularly the terms used in clause 6(e), relating to 'spirituality' which, as a matter of personal conscience, has no place in resource consents. Whilst sacred sites and other tangible aspects of Maori culture ought to be taken into account in the resource consent process there must be a thorough revision of consultation requirements;
- require authorities to maintain registers of those sites defined under section 6(e) (subject to further refinement of the definitions) and of recognised Iwi Authorities (or where applicable hapü) and appropriate personnel. Best practice by local councils suggests that where a constructive dialogue and involvement by local Iwi occurs, both council planning and the RMA process run more smoothly and are less costly. Those aspects of Maori culture and heritage values in clause 6(e), once they have been satisfactorily defined, and in section 7 will be protected; and,
- introduce greater certainty, transparency, and accountability and require that payment must always be for services rendered, with all transactions subject to appropriate auditing and accounting practices.
In order to remove blockages in the RMA system New Zealand First will:
- limit the scope for de novo hearings by the Environment Court to exceptional circumstances and matters of law and the role of the Environment Court largely to rehearing Council decisions and thus remove many of the bottlenecks that currently impede the process;
- ensure that the Environment Court is adequately resourced with sufficiently qualified people sitting on the Court. Whilst noting a recent injection of funding, the resourcing of the Court must be monitored carefully to ensure that lack of resources never again interrupts the smooth running of the consent process; and,
- ensure that appeals to the High Court may be based on law only, once the facts have been established. This is indelibly linked to our view that if the pre-hearing and hearing phases are improved, then the contestability of facts and law are greatly reduced.
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