Thursday 22 October 2015

Media Release

Amend Confidence And Supply Agreements To Get RMA Reform

Auckland Mayoral Candidate Mark Thomas said the Productivity Commission’s report on Using Land for Housing was a ‘clarion call’ to the Maori and United Parties to amend their Confidence and Supply Agreements with National to support RMA reform.

The just-released report outlines how, particularly under its current leadership, Auckland Council is unable to fix the region’s housing challenges without government intervention.

Thomas said if the Maori and United Future Parties needed any more evidence, the Commission’s report contained it all.

“It demonstrates that Auckland’s land supply pressures and the resulting high housing costs can only be properly solved with comprehensive RMA reforms.“

“The Productivity Commission says a wider review of the planning framework is needed, but councils, industry and sector groups have been submitting on these changes for years.”

“The recent Rules Reduction Taskforce report had RMA issues as the number one concern from the more than 2,000 submissions.”

Thomas said the time for reviews is over.

“RMA issues have been holding back Auckland and New Zealand’s affordability and growth for too long. National’s support partners needed to step up and back Auckland.”

Mark Thomas said the Commission’s report made too many recommendations that rely on New Zealand’s 78 councils taking action.

“34 of the 59 recommendations require councils to change how they operate and the history of our planning system shows councils can be too slow to act.”

Thomas said National campaigned on reforming the RMA in last year’s election and had received a great deal of public support for that. It should use the Commission’s ‘call-for-action’ to renegotiate the confidence and supply agreements with the Maori Party and United to support RMA reform. The Act party agreement already included this.

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