Forest & Bird warns New Zealanders should be concerned about the coalition Government’s Resource Management Act reforms signaled today.
“It’s very difficult to have confidence in the national directions announced by Minister Bishop this morning, when the Government has been dismantling policies and laws that protect the environment since the election,” says Forest & Bird General Counsel Erika Toleman.
“A direction about ‘strengthening of environmental limits’ is of limited use, when the Fast-track Approvals Bill runs rough-shod over environmental protections and will be exempt from complying.”
“If the coalition Government is serious about environmental limits, they should amend the Fast-track Approvals Bill now.”
Forest & Bird also argues that where the limits are set is crucial. If they are too low, they will end up causing more environmental degradation.
“Limits must be set based on the capacity of the environment to absorb any more degradation and be based on robust scientific evidence. Proper limits offer more certainty for all resource users because the use will be sustainable,” Ms Toleman says.
Other key directions outlined by Minister Bishop for resource management reform include that the scope of legislation will be narrowed, and that natural and built environments will be separated into two laws.
“The built environment has a direct impact on the natural environment and often, vice versa. In a world that is increasingly impacted by climate change, we need to ensure that integrated management can occur – with this in mind we need to ask whether separate legislation is the right approach.
“Resource management is the bedrock of how we execute our relationship with the natural environment. How that system works is increasingly important: we need a resource management system that is fit for a world where climate change and biodiversity loss are increasingly going to influence our lives. We need to make sure that the new system strengthens environmental protections, not undermines them,” Ms Toleman says.
“Forest & Bird is, however, encouraged to hear that the coalition Government intends to increase focus on enforcement and compliance.”
Back to top anchor