National continues to dismantle environmental protections in the interests of rushing through unsustainable development that will ultimately cost communities.

“These proposed replacements to the Resource Management Act are taking New Zealand backwards, and have the potential to be costly for New Zealanders and the environment we rely on,” said Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking.

“By placing property rights ahead of all other considerations, the Government is leaving out the impact to future generations and ignoring that the next climate change-induced hurricane or landslide doesn’t care where your boundary ends.

“This kind of thinking has got us into the situation we’re in – where many of our native species are hanging on by a thread, and where we have little resilience to the climate impacts that are only going to increase in the next century.

“Our planning laws need long term thinking that takes into account future generations and their interests in a sustainable environment.

“In December, I wrote to RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop to offer to work with him on planning laws. Without a bipartisan approach to planning, New Zealanders could be subjected to planning laws that change with the electoral cycle.

“The changes announced today are starting again from scratch when a significant amount of work has already been done.

“The environment is not a nice to have – we can’t survive without it,” said Rachel Brooking.

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