The Government has made targeted changes to the new planning system to make it more practical for food and fibre production.
The Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill will replace the Resource Management Act with a faster, clearer and less costly planning system that better supports housing, infrastructure, primary production and economic growth, while protecting the natural environment.
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop said the changes will remove unnecessary complexity, better reflect real-world farming and horticultural practices, and provide greater certainty for investment and day-to-day operations.
The changes include simplifying the Natural Environment Bill’s environmental limits framework by removing resource cap provisions and simplifying action plan provisions.
RMA Reform Under-Secretary Simon Court said these changes clarify the intent that action plans are the primary mechanism for managing resource use when a limit is at risk of being breached.
“This is about making the framework less prescriptive. It allows greater precision and flexibility through national instruments, without materially altering the intent or requirements of the environmental limits framework,” said Court.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay added that this will make requirements easier to apply on the ground for farmers and growers, while not reducing core environmental protections.
The Government will also expand what counts as an existing use to better account for seasonal activities. Existing uses will now include lawfully established activities carried out in the past 12 months, up from 6 months.
“Farmers and growers operate in the real world, where activities are often seasonal and do not always fit neatly into a six-month window,” said McClay.
“Extending the existing use period to 12 months better reflects how food and fibre production works, including activities such as crop rotation.”
The definition of long-lived infrastructure will also be amended to include water storage and distribution, meaning a minimum 35-year duration will apply to permits for water infrastructure. This will apply to building the relevant infrastructure, not the taking of water.
McClay added that water storage and distribution infrastructure was critical for productive and resilient rural communities. Longer consent durations will provide greater certainty for investment in the infrastructure farmers and growers rely on.
The Amendment Papers also include changes to sections 70 and 107 of the Resource Management Act.
These changes will enable councils to permit, or grant consent for, activities in the transition period where adverse effects are already occurring in a waterbody, as long as the permitted activity or consent includes requirements to reduce those effects over time.
According to Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard, this will allow councils to recognise situations where improvement is already being built into the rules or consent conditions.
He said the package responded to concerns from farmers and growers about how the new planning system will work on the ground.
“Food and fibre producers need rules that are clear, proportionate and practical. These changes will help reduce unnecessary complexity while maintaining a focus on environmental improvement.”
The Amendment Papers also include changes to strengthen environmental protections in the Bills, such as amending the indigenous biodiversity goal in the Natural Environment Bill, replacing “no net loss in indigenous biodiversity” with “protect significant indigenous biodiversity”.
The changes make the Bills more workable without changing their overall direction. The new planning system is designed to be faster, clearer and more enabling, while protecting the natural environment. These targeted changes will help ensure the system works in practice for farmers, growers and other New Zealanders who rely on natural resources.
The Amendment Papers will be considered during the Committee of the Whole House stage.
The Government has also announced related changes to make freshwater farm plans more proportionate and cost-effective, and targeted action on Plan Changes 1 and 2 to provide respective certainty for farmers and growers in the Waikato and Manawatū-Whanganui while the new planning system is put in place.
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