Hon Chris Bishop
Minister Responsible for RMA Reform
Hon Todd McClay
Minister of Agriculture
Hon Penny Simmonds
Minister for the Environment
Hon Andrew Hoggard
Associate Minister for the Environment

The coalition Government’s Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has passed its third reading in Parliament, delivering on the Government’s commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to councils and consent applicants, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister for the Environment Andrew Hoggard say.

“Our RMA Reform programme is happening in three phases. We repealed the previous government’s excessively complicated reforms through Phase One before Christmas last year. Now in Phase Two we’re implementing a one-stop-shop fast-track consenting regime, legislating for a raft of ‘quick fixes’ to the interim RMA through two Amendment Bills and a suite of changes to national direction, and then in Phase Three we’ll fully replace the RMA with a new regime guided by private property rights,” Mr Bishop says.

"This first Amendment Bill is focused on targeted changes that can take effect quickly and give certainty to councils and consent applicants, while new legislation to replace the RMA is developed,” Ms Simmonds says.

“Farming, mining and other primary industries are critical to rebuilding the New Zealand economy. This Bill reduces the regulatory burden on resource consent applicants and supports development in these key sectors,” Mr McClay says.

The Bill makes several changes to the Resource Management Act and national direction.

The Bill:

• clarifies that resource consent applicants no longer need to demonstrate their proposed activities follow the Te Mana o te Wai hierarchy of obligations, as set out in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM).
• amends stock exclusion regulations in relation to sloped land.
• repeals the permitted and restricted discretionary intensive winter grazing regulations and replaces these with new regulations relating to critical source areas and riparian setbacks
• aligns the consenting pathway for coal mining with the pathway for other extractive activities across the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPS-IB), NPS-FM, and the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-F).
• suspends the requirement for councils to identify new Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) in accordance with the NPS-IB for three years, to give enough time for a thorough review of how they operate.
• streamlines the process for preparing national direction under the RMA
• clarifies councils’ ability to consent discharges where consent conditions will reduce effects over time
• pauses the roll out of Freshwater Farm Plans across the country
• restricts councils’ ability to notify new freshwater plans from 22 October 2024 until the gazettal of the replacement National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM).

Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says improving primary sector profitability is key to boosting our largest exporting sector. Regulations need to be fit-for-purpose and not place unnecessary compliance costs on farmers and growers.

“By removing the need for resource consent applicants to demonstrate that their activities follow the hierarchy of obligations, we’ve cut an unnecessary compliance burden and are reducing costs faced by farmers and growers,” Mr McClay says.

“The changes to stock exclusion and winter grazing regulations represent a move to a more risk-based, catchment-focussed approach.

“We’ve removed the low slope map and will let regional councils and individual farmers determine where stock need to be excluded, based on risk. The focus is on farm-level and regionally suitable solutions.

“Regional councils tell us there has been a significant improvement in winter grazing practices, with farmers changing where they plant fodder crops and how they manage winter grazing.

“Importantly, non-regulatory measures are already in place to support the continued improvement of winter grazing practices going forward.” Mr McClay says.

Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard says freshwater farm plans are an essential for managing freshwater risks.

“The intention is that freshwater farm plans will provide an effective way to manage the impacts of farming activities on freshwater, including winter grazing and stock exclusion, in a risk-based and practical way.

“These changes will help bring efficiencies to a system that was too complex. The Government has worked at pace to simplify and improve the freshwater farm plan system. We have delivered for farmers and growers.”

The Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill will come into force the day after it receives Royal Assent.

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