The passing of two of the Bills to replace the current Resource Management Act (RMA) has marked a significant milestone for the Employers and Manufacturers Association’s (EMA) ongoing campaign for reform in an area that affects all its members.
CEO of the Employers and Manufacturers Association, Brett O’Riely, said that the campaign to reform the old RMA started six years ago.
"Our work alongside Infrastructure NZ and Property Council New Zealand, and the partnership that developed from the work we commissioned with the Environmental Defence Society, proved the sceptics wrong," said O’Riley.
O’Riley said the passing of the Spatial Planning Act (SPA) and the Natural and Built Environments Act (NBEA) marked a significant success for the lobbying of these organisations and many others but also marked the start of another process in the future of economic and social development in New Zealand.
"Our four organisations and later BusinessNZ joined forces to help convince the current Government to push ahead with those reforms in an area that is critical to the future nation-building of New Zealand."
As with any new laws, the proof will be in the implementation. The EMA was very pleased to secure a voice at the table for the business and development sectors in developing new spatial plans and support having just 16 plans instead of the many more it has now.
"But the new system also has its complexities and a number of new terminologies and concepts that will almost certainly require testing in the courts - something we’d all rather Avoid.”
The legislation has also faced political uncertainty if there were to be a change of Government, so the 7-to-10-year timeframe for implementation may be well and truly tested.
