The Minister for RMA Reform, Minister of Agriculture, and Minister for the Environment have issued their expectations to all Regional and Unitary Councils to take a pragmatic approach when issuing consents, ahead of the transition to a new planning system.
In a letter to Regional Council Chairs and Chief Executives, the Ministers outlined their expectations for the councils as the local authorities who oversee the use of land, water and discharges.
‘We expect you to be seeking opportunities to streamline consenting processes, reduce onerous requirements wherever possible, and ease the consenting burden while we get the system changes in place. Where appropriate, this will mean exercising discretion available to you under the RMA, which can include extending consenting timeframes and working with individual applicants to reach pragmatic solutions,’ the letter states.
‘We are developing a detailed transition plan for the new planning system, and this will be provided to you shortly after the introduction of the legislation later this year. This will provide you with more certainty on how to manage consenting processes during the transition period to the new system. Until then, we expect you to exercise sensible judgement’.
RMA Minister, Chris Bishop said he and his Ministerial colleagues continued to receive concerning reports of councils across the country applying “stringent, unnecessary, and burdensome requirements” when issuing new consents, particularly for our farmers and growers.
“Our country relies on our rural producers. At a time of economic challenges, councils should be doing all they can to unlock economic growth, not stymie it,” said Mr Bishop.
“Farmers are not the enemy. Working on the land is not a ‘nice to have’ – it’s vital for our country’s success. Prior to the induction of our new planning system, councils need to recognise that they’ll need to be pragmatic and flexible to ensure our rural economy continues to operate.”
Minister Todd McClay said the RMA gives local authorities power to exercise discretion over consent processes.
“This includes extending consenting timeframes and working with individual applicants to reach pragmatic solutions,” Mr McClay says.
Later this year, a regime to transition consents into the new system will be released. Until then, the Government expect councils to use this discretion where appropriate, he said.
“Farmers should not be punished for what amounts to bureaucratic process,” said Mr McClay.
“We know that the transition into a new planning system could create some bumps for those sectors whose livelihoods depend on their consents. The Government expects local authorities to smooth those bumps as much as possible,” said Environment Minister, Penny Simmonds.
“Local Authorities need to recognise that the system is changing, and change their behaviour accordingly. The Government has committed to working alongside councils to support the implementation of, and alignment with, the future system.”
Read the Letter to Regional Council Chairs and CEs regarding consenting requirements.pdf.
