RMA about to get some fine-tuning

By KEVIN TAYLOR political reporter

Maori consultation provisions in the Resource Management Act are about to undergo some fine tuning.

Associate Environment Minister David Benson-Pope said yesterday that iwi consultation provisions would be looked at as part of a wider review of the act.

He said issues surrounding the $1.5 million spent by the Corrections Department on iwi consultation over the Spring Hill Prison in north Waikato had already been referred to him for inclusion in the review.

Last month Opposition parties called for changes to the law following the revelations about the consultation, which they claim showed the department bought Maori support for the project.

The RMA was also cited by state-owned Meridian Energy in March as one reason it dumped the controversial Aqua power project proposed for the South Island's Waitaki Valley.

Mr Benson-Pope said there would be only incremental improvements to the law and the review was like taking the car for a "tune-up" rather than a trade-in.

Areas targeted for improvement include balancing of the national and local interests, the consent process and the application of the law by local authorities.

He said the Government wanted practical solutions to problems identified after talking with interested groups over the past 18 months.

On the issue of balancing national and local interests, he said the Government would not return to "National Development Act approaches" of the National Government led by late Prime Minister Robert Muldoon.

"The prime cornerstone of the RMA - the absolute necessity of protecting our environment - remains at the highest priority.

"The other equal top of our shopping list is making sure the good community consultation and public consultation process ... are not diluted in any way."

Public input would be sought into the review before proposals are ready for Cabinet by the end of July.

A bill will be tabled in Parliament in September, although some measures will not require a law change.

Cases awaiting hearing in the Environment Court have halved to about 1500 since the 2000-2001 year, and Mr Benson-Pope said that had resulted in "greenmail" largely disappearing.

But the review still would look to reduce the time taken to make decisions and thus the need to buy off objectors.

"If you are going to get a consent within a matter of weeks or months why would you bother taking out the chequebook to buy off the people who might otherwise object?"

Meanwhile, Environment Minister Marian Hobbs said a decision would be made in the next 10 days on whether the Government would drop a bill to impose a water allocation framework on the Waitaki catchment.

The bill would establish a board to decide competing demands for the river's water, but its continued relevance has been under question since Aqua was cancelled.

The review includes:

* Achieving the right balance of national and local interests.

* Improving the consent decision-making process and local plans like district and water plans.

* Better mechanisms for deciding who can use resources like water, air and geothermal.

* Better application of the law by local authorities.

* Iwi consultation.