Significant natural areas have extra protections on their use because they contain native vegetation or habitat for native wildlife. Photo / Local Democracy Reporting, Lois Williams
Significant natural areas have extra protections on their use because they contain native vegetation or habitat for native wildlife. Photo / Local Democracy Reporting, Lois Williams
A vocal advocate of property rights is applauding the Government’s environmental law reforms, but warns that some councils cannot afford to compensate landowners with significant natural areas (SNAs) on their properties.
The Natural Environment Bill, presented in Parliament on Tuesday, entitles landowners to compensation from councils in the form ofcash, lower rates or extra development rights if an SNA is identified on their land.
Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop said the bill strengthened property rights.
“It restores the freedom for New Zealanders to use their land in ways that affect nobody else.
“Councils will be required to provide relief to property owners when imposing significant restrictions like heritage protections or significant natural areas.”
SNAs have extra protection on their land use because they have significant native vegetation or habitat for native wildlife.
The provision also applies to other designations, including outstanding natural landscapes and sites of significance to Māori.
West Coast regional councillor Allan Birchfield, who has lobbied for more than six years for compensation for landowners affected by SNAs, said the idea was sound, but cash compensation on the West Coast was a pipe dream.
“The One Plan [Te Tai o Poutini Plan] has identified half our private land under some sort of label or restriction.
“I know one farmer’s got something like 800 hectares in wetland; the councils can’t afford to do it; they’re all heavily in debt, borrowed up to the limit.”
There were two choices for councils, he said: either pay up or remove the land designations.
Identifying SNAs has been a requirement under the RMA for decades, but on the West Coast, only the Grey District Council has complied, identifying SNAs about 15 years ago.
West Coast regional councillor Allan Birchfield. Photo / Local Democracy Reporting
Bishop’s office confirmed the new rules would be retrospective, and those landowners could be eligible for compensation.
“In certain circumstances, councils will need to reassess SNAs (and other controls) against the new rules.
“The bill provides that a person can be eligible for relief if a control is carried over from an RMA plan to a new plan under the reformed system.”
Two conditions applied, a spokesperson said. First, the control (such as an SNA designation) must have a significant impact on the reasonable use of the relevant land, and secondly, the relevant land could not have been sold after the control had been put in place.
“This is because the new buyer of the land would have been aware of the control, and this would have affected what they paid for the land.”
Environmental Defence Society chairman Gary Taylor said he expected the new relief provision would be scrapped as the bill progresses through its committee stages.
“I would expect we will be left with something like the existing Section 85 of the RMA, which says if council rules restrain you from the reasonable use of your property, you are entitled to compensation.”
That provision had not been used very often, Taylor said.
He believed the overall direction of the Government’s reforms was workable, but there would have to be changes in three key areas.
“One is legal standing: the right to be heard on consent applications, which they’re proposing to limit.
“The second is the relief provision: it’s a concept that doesn’t have a place in our legal system, I don’t think.
“There’s a public interest element in looking after our environment, whether it’s on public land or private land.“
More work was also needed on the setting of environmental limits and who would set them, Taylor said.
On Wednesday morning, Parliament passed urgent legislation extending the duration of thousands of existing resource consents.
It automatically extended existing or expired consents to December 31, 2027, allowing operations to continue lawfully while the new environmental planning system beds in.
West Coast Regional Council chairman Colin Smith said the proposed reforms presented an opportunity to deliver better economic outcomes while protecting what mattered to communities.
“There are about 750 pages in the proposed replacement bills, so it will take everyone in the local government sector time to fully understand the full detail of the changes.”
Strategic regional planning and delivery were central to the new resource management system, he said.
“Successful implementation relies on the stability and expertise of regional and unitary councils.”
The bills include ambitious timeframes, such as requiring spatial plans within 21 months of enactment.
“WCRC and other regional councils are still legally responsible for the same RMA work they have been tasked with till now, until the Government decides otherwise. At the very least, that’s for the next 12 months, if not longer.”
The new framework offered mixed outcomes for Māori participation, he said.
“It encourages iwi engagement, but there are risks in removing the broad obligation to consider Treaty principles.
“We remain committed to advancing reforms that deliver healthy environments, resilient communities, and strong local economies while ensuring community voices are heard.”
