Environment Minister Hon David Parker, in a speech to Local Government last week said reforming the resource management system is a priority and the Government has committed to repealing the Resource Management Act (RMA) and enacting the Natural and Built Environments Act (NBA) and Spatial Planning Act (SPA), this parliamentary term.

Both pieces of legislation to Parliament in October following on from the Select Committee Inquiry into the Exposure Draft in 2021.

The Minister said the new SPA will enable long-term spatial planning at the regional level through the development of Regional Spatial Strategies and the  NBA will be the primary piece of legislation to replace the RMA.

Like the RMA, the NBA will be an integrated statute for land use and environmental protection. Minister Parker said the Government did consider separate development and environment Acts but concluded that did not resolve the tension between the two objects. A key element of this legislation is the National Planning Framework (NPF) which will give consistent national direction.

The Minister’s speech is available here, and the Ministry for the Environment (MfE)’s Resource Management reform update is available here.