Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 | |
---|---|
![]() | |
New Zealand Parliament [1] | |
| |
Royal assent | 23 August 2023 [1] |
Repealed | 23 December 2023 [2] |
Legislative history | |
Introduced by | David Parker [1] |
First reading | 22 November 2022 [1] |
Second reading | 18 July 2023 [1] |
Third reading | 15 August 2023 [1] |
Related legislation | |
Resource Management Act 1991 [1] | |
Status: Repealed |
The Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 (NBA), now repealed, was one of the three laws which will replace New Zealand's Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). [3] The NBA aimed to promote the protection and enhancement of the natural and built environment, while providing for housing and preparing for the effects of climate change. [4]
An exposure draft of the bill was released in June 2021 to allow for public submissions. [5] The Bill passed its third reading on 15 August 2023, and received royal assent on 23 August 2023. [1] On 20 December 2023, the NBE Act and the Spatial Planning Act were both repealed by the National-led coalition government. [6]
The Natural and Built Environment Bill exposure draft features many contrasts to its RMA predecessor. This includes the ability to set environmental limits, the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the provisions to increase housing supply, and the ability for planners to access activities based on outcomes. A notable difference is the bill's stronger attention to Māori involvement in decision making and Māori environmental issues. Greater emphasis is put on upholding the nation's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi. [4]
Under the bill, over 100 plans and policy statements will be replaced by just 14 plans. These plans will be prepared by new Regional Council Planning Committees and their planning secretariats. The planning committee will be composed of one person to represent the Minister of Conservation, appointed representatives of mana whenua, and elected people from each district within the region. The committee will have an array of responsibilities, including the ability to vote on plan changes, set environmental limits for the region, and consider recommendations from hearings. The planning secretariat would draft the plans and provide expert advice. [4]
In mid November 2022, the Natural and Built Environment Act was introduced into parliament. In its initial version, the bill establishes a National Planning Framework (NPF) setting out rules for land use and regional resource allocation. The NPF also replaces the Government's policy statements on water, air quality and other issues with an umbrella framework. Under NPF's framework, all 15 regions will be required to develop a Natural and Built Environment Plan (NBE) that will replace the 100 district and regional plans, harmonising consenting and planning rules. An independent national Māori entity will also be established to provide input into the NPF and ensure compliance with the Treaty of Waitangi's provisions. [7] [8] [9]
Key provisions have included:
A 2020 review of the Resource Management Act 1991 found various problems with the existing resource management system, and concluded that it could not cope with modern environmental pressures. [10] In January 2021, the government announced that the RMA will be replaced by three acts, with the Natural and Built Environment Bill being the primary of the three. [11]
An exposure draft of the NBA was released in late June 2021. [4]
On 14 November 2022, the Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand introduced the Natural and Built Environment Bill into parliament alongside the companion Spatial Planning Act 2023 (SPA) as part of its efforts to replace the Resource Management Act. [7] [8] [12] In response, the opposition National and ACT parties criticised the two replacement bills on the grounds that it created more centralisation, bureaucracy, and did little to reform the problems associated with the RMA process. The Green Party expressed concerns about the perceived lack of environment protection in the proposed legislation. [13] [14]
A third bill, the Climate Adaptation Bill (CAA), was expected to be introduced in 2023 with the goal of passing it into law in 2024. The CAA would have established the systems and mechanisms for protecting communities against the effects of climate change such as managed retreat in response to rising levels. The Climate Adaptation Bill also would have dealt with funding the costs of managing climate change. [12]
The Natural and Built Environment Bill passed its first reading in the New Zealand House of Representatives on 22 November 2022 by a margin of 74 to 45 votes. The governing Labour and allied Green parties supported the bill while the opposition National, ACT, and Māori parties voted against the bill. The bill's sponsor David Parker and other Labour Members of Parliament including Associate Environment Minister Phil Twyford, Rachel Brooking, and Green MP Eugenie Sage advocated revamping the resource management system due to the unwieldy nature of the Resource Management Act. National MPs Scott Simpson, Chris Bishop, Sam Uffindell, and ACT MP Simon Court argued that the NBA would do little to improve the resource management system and address the centralisation of power and decision-making regarding resource management. Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer argued that the bill was insufficient in advancing co-governance and expressed concern that a proposed national Māori entity would undermine the power of Māori iwi (tribes) and hapu (sub-groups). The bill was subsequently referred to the Environment Select Committee. [15]
On 27 June 2023, the Environment select committee presented its final report on the Natural Built and Environment Bill. [16] The committee made several recommendations including:
A majority of Environment committee members voted to pass the amendments. [17]
The National, ACT and Green parties released minority submissions on the Bill. While supporting a revamp of the Resource Management Act (RMA), the National Party argued that the NBA failed to address the problems with the RMA framework, and criticised the NBA as complex, bureaucratic, detrimental to local democracy and property rights. Similarly, the ACT party criticised the legislation as complex, confusing, and claimed it would discourage development. Meanwhile, the Green Party opined that the NBA was insufficient in protecting the environment and reducing environmental degradation. [17]
The NBA passed its second reading on 18 July 2023 by a margin of 72 to 47 votes. While it was supported by the Labour, Green parties, and former Green Member of Parliament Elizabeth Kerekere, it was opposed by the National, ACT, Māori parties, and former Labour MP Meka Whaitiri. The House of Representatives also voted to accept the Environment select committee's recommendations. Labour MPs Parker, Brooking, Twyford, Angie Warren-Clark, Neru Leavasa, and Stuart Nash, and Green MP Sage gave speeches defending the Bill while National MPs Chris Bishop, Scott Simpson, Barbara Kuriger, Tama Potaka, and ACT MP Simon Court criticised the Bill in their speeches. [18]
The NBA passed its third reading on 15 August 2023 by margin of 72 to 47 votes. The Labour, Green parties, and Kerekere supported the Bill while the National, ACT, Māori parties, and Whaitiri opposed it. Labour MPs Parker, Brooking, Twyford, Warren-Clark, Angela Roberts, Arena Williams, and Lydia Sosene and Green MP Sage defended the Bill while National MPs Bishop, Kuriger, and Simpson opposed the Bill. [19] [20]
On 20 December, the National-led coalition government repealed the Natural and Built Environment Act and Spatial Planning Act. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop announced that New Zealand would revert to the Resource Management Act 1991 while the Government developed replacement legislation. [6]
New Zealand is divided into sixteen regions for local government purposes. Eleven are administered by regional councils, and five are administered by unitary authorities, which are territorial authorities that also perform the functions of regional councils. The Chatham Islands Council is not a region but is similar to a unitary authority, authorised under its own legislation.
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, commonly known as Green or the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four pillars. The party's ideology combines environmentalism with left-wing and social-democratic economic policies, including well-funded and locally controlled public services within the confines of a steady-state economy. Internationally, it is affiliated with the Global Greens.
Nanaia Cybele Mahuta is a New Zealand former politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand from 2020 to 2023. In October 2022, Mahuta became the Mother of the House, having served continuously in the House of Representatives since the 1996 general election. She lost her seat in parliament in the 2023 general election.
David William Parker is a New Zealand lawyer, businessman and politician who has been a Labour Party Member of Parliament since 2002.
The Resource Management Act (RMA) passed in 1991 in New Zealand is a significant, and at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water. New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment describes the RMA as New Zealand's principal legislation for environmental management.
The Ministry for the Environment is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the New Zealand Government on policies and issues affecting the environment, in addition to the relevant environmental laws and standards. The Environment Act 1986 is the statute that establishes the Ministry.
A resource consent is the authorisation given to certain activities or uses of natural and physical resources required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act. Some activities may either be specifically authorised by the RMA or be permitted activities authorised by rules in plans. Any activities that are not permitted by the RMA, or by a rule in a plan, require a resource consent before they are carried out.
Otago Regional Council (ORC) is the regional council for Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. The council's principal office is Regional House on Stafford Street in Dunedin with 250–275 staff, with smaller offices in Queenstown and Alexandra. They are responsible for sustainably managing Otago’s natural resources of land, air and water on behalf of the community. Property owners pay rates to both the local and regional councils.
Kaitiakitanga is a New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship of the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as kaitiakitanga.
The Fourth National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 2 November 1990 to 27 November 1999. Following electoral reforms in the 1996 election, Jim Bolger formed a coalition with New Zealand First. Following Bolger's resignation, the government was led by Jenny Shipley, the country's first female prime minister, for the final two years.
Eugenie Meryl Sage is a New Zealand environmentalist and former politician. She was a Green Party Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2011 to 2023.
New Zealand has a unitary system of government in which the authority of the central government defines sub-national entities. Local government in New Zealand has only the powers conferred upon it by the New Zealand Parliament. Under the Local Government Act 2002, local authorities are responsible for enabling democratic local decision-making and promoting the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of their communities, as well as more specific functions for which they have delegated authority.
Mojo Celeste Mathers is a New Zealand politician and a former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Green Party. She became known through her involvement with the Malvern Hills Protection Society and helped prevent the Central Plains Water Trust's proposal to build a large irrigation dam in Coalgate. She was a senior policy advisor to the Green Party between 2006 and 2011. Mathers was elected to the 50th term of Parliament in 2011, becoming the country's first deaf Member of Parliament.
The Sixth Labour Government governed New Zealand from 26 October 2017 to 27 November 2023. It was headed first by Jacinda Ardern and later by Chris Hipkins, as Labour Party leader and prime minister.
The 53rd New Zealand Parliament was a meeting of the legislature in New Zealand. It opened on 25 November 2020 following the 17 October 2020 general election, and dissolved on 8 September 2023 to trigger the next election. It consisted of 120 members of Parliament (MPs) with five parties represented: the Labour and Green parties, in government, and the National, Māori and ACT parties, in opposition. The Sixth Labour Government held a majority in this Parliament. Jacinda Ardern continued as prime minister until her resignation on 25 January 2023; she was succeeded by Chris Hipkins.
The Resource Management Amendment Act 2021 is a New Zealand Act of Parliament. The act amends the Resource Management Act 1991 to rapidly boost the supply of housing in areas where the demand for housing is high. This act seeks to address New Zealand's housing shortage and unaffordable housing. The bill passed its third reading on 15 December 2021, with the support of most parties in the New Zealand House of Representatives except the libertarian ACT Party.
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Act 2022 is an act of the New Zealand Parliament that seeks to combat smoking by limiting the number of retailers allowed to sell smoked tobacco products; ban the sale of smoked tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009; and to discourage the consumption of smoked tobacco products. The bill passed its third reading on 13 December 2022 and received royal assent on 16 December 2022. The new National-led coalition government announced in late November 2023 that they intended to repeal the legislation. The Smokefree legislation was repealed under urgency on 28 February 2024.
Co-governance in New Zealand consists of various negotiated arrangements where Māori people and the Crown share decision-making, or Māori exercise a form of self-determination through a devolution of state power. Notable examples include the co-management of natural resources as part of the provision of Māori social services by Māori-focused entities, and statutory Māori representation in local government bodies. In addition Treaty of Waitangi settlements from 2008 often had co-governance agreements where the iwi involved worked with significant rivers, watersheds, coastlines and landmarks.
The Spatial Planning Act 2023 (SPA), now repealed, was one of three laws introduced by the Sixth Labour Government in order to replace New Zealand's Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). Its purpose was to provide for regional spatial strategies that assisted the purpose of the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 (NBA) and promote integration in the performance of functions under the NBA, the Land Transport Management Act 2003, the Local Government Act 2002, and the Water Services Entities Act 2022.
The second term of the Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand lasted between 2020 and 2023. It was formed following the Labour Party's landslide victory in the 2020 New Zealand general election. In mid January 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern resigned and was succeeded by Chris Hipkins. During the 2023 New Zealand general election held on 14 October, Labour lost its majority to the opposition National Party. The Government remained in a caretaker capacity until the new National–led coalition government was sworn in on 27 November 2023.