Mood of the Boardroom: 'Keeping the country in aspic'

Mark Cairns, formerly CEO of Port of Tauranga, says "four-year delays to consenting Port of Tauranga's berth expansion are a disgrace". Photo / George Novak

The Resource Management Act is set to be repealed and replaced with three new Acts before the end of the year. It clearly won't be missed in the nation's boardrooms.
When asked to rate how well the RMA works to facilitate growth and development on a scale of one to five, respondents to the Herald's CEO Survey clustered at the bottom end of the scale with 31 per cent giving it a score of one.

No-one gave it a score of five.

Some 36 per cent gave a 2/5 rating and 17 per cent 3/5.

One business leader suggested it should be given a score of zero.

There was plenty of critical comment reflecting the business sector's frustration in dealing with RMA hurdles in recent years.

A resources sector CEO says the existing act "sets the country in aspic".

A leading banker says the RMA has been a major constraint on development since its inception in 1991.

The CEO of a development business described the act as "a huge train crash of mismanagement".

Professional director Mark Cairns, formerly CEO of Port of Tauranga, says while the RMA is no longer his concern, "four-year delays to consenting Port of Tauranga's berth expansion are a disgrace given our reliance on shipping as a small island trading nation, a long way from our export markets."

Business leaders have called for RMA reform for more than a decade. The pending legislation follows a July 2020 review conducted by former Appeal Court Judge Tony Randerson.

It will see more than 100 existing RMA council planning documents reduced to about 14.

The three new Acts will be the Natural and Built Environments Act (NBA), the Strategic Planning Act (SPA) and the Climate Change Adaptation Act (CAA).

Beca executive chair David Carter says the RMA is in need of a refresh.

Fulton Hogan CEO Cos Bruyn says the act was becoming increasingly difficult to navigate.

He described it as "a very costly and time-consuming process with no guarantee in outcome and becoming a barrier to entry".

Craig Stobo, the chair of Precinct Properties, notes: "It is ironic that ministers also consider the RMA to be ineffective. However, their mitigant — the development of the Infrastructure Funding and Financing programme remains stillborn. Subsequent ministerial fast track consenting begs the question why we would go back to slow track consenting?"

There were few positive words about the RMA although a university leader says it "Has mitigated some risks, but has not enabled the opportunities we've all needed, at the rate and in the ways we need."

Matthew Cockram, chief executive of Cooper and Company which has driven the development of Auckland's Britomart, says the RMA is not optimal; "equally it is used as a whipping boy when there are other problems holding back growth such as poor productivity, restrictions on foreign direct investment and so on."

Not everyone is happy about the replacement legislation.

An aviation CEO described it as "a shambles in waiting".

The three pieces of legislation replacing the Resource Management Act are made up of:
Natural and Built Environments Act (NBA) is the main replacement for the RMA.

Strategic Planning Act (SPA) will require the development of long-term regional spatial strategies.

Climate Adaptation Act (CAA) will address complex issues associated with managed retreats.

The CEO of an environmental firm says: "While it can be improved, there are serious concerns about how the NBA will work in practice."