Environment law change on fast track

The Government will push through legislation amending the Resource Management Act within three weeks, although loose ends will need tidying up.

Since 1999, three successive Governments have tried to get act amendments through Parliament.

But they have been thwarted by political divisions.

National and Act see the legislation as bogging down commercial interests in red tape and Environment Court objections.

At the other end of the political spectrum, the Green Party wants to ensure the environment is protected from unsympathetic development.

Now, United Future support for the Resource Management Act Amendment Bill (No 2) means it will be introduced, sent to a select committee, reported back to Parliament and passed within three weeks.

Legislation usually takes much longer to pass, as select committees hear public submissions on it.

But Environment Minister Marian Hobbs says this is not necessary for the RMA bill as issues in it have been "debated to death".

Amendments to the much-criticised law have been mooted since National was last in government.

Simon Upton - then the minister - proposed streamlining resource consent applications in 1999.

Ms Hobbs says Labour's bill is much the same as one introduced in 1999, with important Government amendments included.

Last October, the Government said it would rush changes to the act through under urgency, with the support of United Future.

That did not happen.

The bill had now been redrafted to save Parliament time, Ms Hobbs said.

"All the issues in this bill have been discussed at select committee."

But even United Future was not entirely happy with the legislation, she said.

"They don't totally agree with everything that is in here, and they want some more things.

"Rather than battle with everyone all around the place to get a vote up, they said, 'Let's go through with this, on the condition you take up our issues in the next year'."

The Government would address these issues, and more amendments would be made to the act.

The bill would speed up the resource consent process, which had resulted in an Environmental Court backlog of about 18 months.

"I think that we have achieved a tidying up, a clarification of timelines and the clarifications of some procedures," Ms Hobbs said.

"It is not the bill alone, it is the bill, and how local government acts, and how the courts act that achieve a better performance of the RMA."

Participation in the consent process would be restricted.

Only parties identified as directly affected would be able to make submissions or participate in consent hearings.

That would reduce the number of vexatious complaints, Ms Hobbs said.

The Green Party said developers would be celebrating a "lazy rewrite" of the bill.

It reversed two key decisions made by a select committee in 2001 that had carefully tried to balance a wide range of interests, the party said.

The bill re-introduced "limited notification", which Green co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said would reduce public participation in decisions.

And it removed clauses that would allow appeals to the Environment Court against decisions not to notify applicants.

"Only 5 per cent of consents are publicly notified and the bill reduces this further," she said.

Local councils would decided who was affected by a proposal.

If they got that wrong, those affected would have to go to the High Court to get a say on the proposal.

Ms Fitzsimons said limited notification "means that groups representing the public and community interest and the environment will have less chance of being involved".



The bill's aims

* Reduce costs and delays, and tighten deadlines for taking action under the act.

* Strengthen provision for the establishment of national policy statements and national environment standards.

* Enhance provisions relating to historic heritage.

* Remove proposed appeal rights to the Environment Court.

- NZPA