The Resource Management Act is one of New Zealand’s worst performing pieces of legislation. It has become a major barrier to progress by adding costs and delays to the local authority consenting process. It has also been identified as a significant contributor to the country’s housing crisis.
Drafted by former Labour Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer in the late 1980s as enabling legislation to replace the prescriptive Town and Country Planning Act, it was passed into law by Jim Bolger’s National Government in 1991.
During the intervening years, the RMA has undergone upwards of 20 major amendments and has been expanded to almost 1,000 pages.
Almost everyone, except radical environmentalists, accept the RMA needs to be reined in – and every Government in recent history has campaigned on promises to ‘fix’ the RMA.
The last National Government planned sweeping reforms but couldn’t persuade their United Future and ACT coalition partners to support their proposals. In the end, they did a deal with the Maori Party and as a result, along with sensible changes, new race-based provisions giving iwi greater influence in council decision-making were also introduced that have made the problems with the RMA even worse.
In 2017, the Labour Party also campaigned on fixing the RMA, and last week passed their Resource Management Act Amendment Bill into law. Environment Minister David Parker claimed it was a significant step forward in improving resource management and consenting in New Zealand.
The new law is indeed a significant step – but backwards not forwards!
The Minister failed to mention that the passing of his Bill represents a serious abuse of democracy and the Parliamentary process.
Let me explain.
Last July during Parliament’s Question Time, Green MP Gareth Hughes asked Minister Parker whether he supported removing the ban that prevents local authorities from taking climate change into account when considering resource consent applications from the RMA during this term of Parliament.
The Minister replied with a categorical “No”.
The ban had been introduced by Helen Clark’s Labour Government in 2004 on the basis that the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions was best addressed at a national level through a carbon-pricing mechanism such as an Emissions Trading Scheme. Accordingly, section 70A was inserted into the RMA to ensure that “when making a rule to control the discharge into air of greenhouse gases… a regional council must not have regard to the effects of such a discharge on climate change”. And section 104E was inserted to ensure that when considering “an application for a discharge permit or coastal permit… a consent authority must not have regard to the effects of such a discharge on climate change”.
These provisions prevented local authorities from declining a consent to, say, build a petrol station or expand a coal mine on the basis that they would be promoting the use of fossil fuels.
When David Parker tabled his RMA Amendment Bill in Parliament just two months after that Question Time exchange with Gareth Hughes, it contained no reference to climate change. When it went out for submissions, there was therefore no reason for members of the public to mention sections 70A or 104E as there were no proposals to change them.
Despite this the Environment Select Committee received hundreds of submissions ‘from the public’ calling for the repeal of sections 70A and 104E. It is implausible to suggest these submissions were anything but orchestrated by the Green Party mobilising their support base.
The advice to the Select Committee from the Ministry for the Environment indicated that these engineered submissions had a big influence on their recommendation to repeal sections 70A and 104E: “In response to submissions… repeal sections 70A, 104E of the RMA… to remove statutory barriers to climate change consideration in RMA.”
The submissions also influenced Select Committee members since their report stated: “A significant number of submissions raised the matter of climate change, and how the RMA interacts with climate change policy… we recommend repealing sections 70A and 104E of the RMA.”
In other words, the Ministry and the Select Committee accepted these submissions at face value and claimed to have been so influenced by them that they made a major change to the legislation. In doing so they have denied Kiwis their democratic right to have a say on this crucial matter. It represents a gross abuse of the Parliamentary process and shameful behaviour by the Ministry and the Committee – a majority of whom are Government MPs: three Labour, one Green, one New Zealand First and four National.
New Zealand First could have stopped this legislation – or at least had it referred back for a further round of consultation. But it didn’t.
A matter as important as this should have had full public scrutiny so that the voices of those opposing the repeal of sections 70A and 104E could have been heard by the decision-makers as well.
The National Party spokesman on the RMA Judith Collins expressed it in this way: “A recently-released report by the Environment Select Committee recommends several changes to the Resource Management Amendment Bill, including provisions for climate change considerations in RMA decisions. These late changes are an abuse of the select committee process because they were made after public feedback was called for, meaning submitters have not had the opportunity to properly consider the new bill. The climate change considerations were not in the original bill, and it appears only some of the people who submitted were aware of them.”
She also made the point that while the Environment Minister David Parker claimed he was working on ways to improve the speed and certainty of consenting, with councils able to consider climate change in their consenting decisions “This bill will have the opposite effect.”
Once the Bill was passed by Parliament, the Green Party co-leader James Shaw claimed the repeal of the sections 70A and 104E ban was a major policy victory: “The green movement has been trying to get this fixed for 15 years… In my view, this is one of the most significant policy changes to address climate change that we have done this term”.
But his claims that the policy will ‘address’ climate change are inaccurate.
Firstly, while the new law does indeed remove sections 70A and 104E from the RMA, there is a caveat. The changes will not come into force until 31 December 2021, in order to align the RMA with the Zero Carbon Act and to ensure that the change coincides with the gazetting of the first emissions reduction plans under the ZCA.
And secondly, since the Government amended the Emissions Trading Scheme to introduce a cap on New Zealand emissions last month, any decisions made by councils to reject proposals that they believe could increase New Zealand emissions – such as building a service station – will, in fact, have no impact on the country’s total emissions. All it would do, is deny local communities the convenience and employment opportunities that such a business would bring.
This week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator Dr Eric Crampton, Chief Economist at the New Zealand Initiative, explains that since the ETS now has a binding emissions cap for the whole county, while the RMA law change will do nothing to reduce carbon emissions, it will impact on costs:
“Last week, Parliament repealed Section 104E of the Resource Management Act. The section prohibited councils from considering the climate change effects of their consenting decisions. But because the measure follows the Zero Carbon Act placing a binding cap on emissions in the Emissions Trading Scheme… every tonne of carbon not emitted is a tonne of carbon available for someone else to emit…
“Now that the ETS comes with a binding cap, council consideration of carbon emissions in consenting cannot really affect New Zealand’s net emissions. If a new subdivision means more driving and more electricity use, every tonne of associated carbon must be bid away from some other use. If the council tells developers every house must meet costly standards for energy efficiency, the home’s buyers will have a higher upfront cost and lower ongoing electricity costs. But net emissions will not change. The household’s lower demand for carbon credits just frees up credits to be used elsewhere.”
In other words, while the new law will not reduce overall emissions within New Zealand, it will profoundly delay projects and increase development costs.
As a result, Minister Parker’s claim that the changes he introduced represent a “significant milestone in reforming the RMA that would reduce complexity, increase certainty … and makes significant improvements to environmental outcomes” is a gross misrepresentation – an absurdity that is patently untrue.
In fact, the new Act repealed many of the changes that National had introduced to try to streamline the RMA – including allowing a Minister to intervene to ensure councils were releasing sufficient land for housing, precluding many resource consent applications for residential activities and subdivisions from having to be publicly notified, and removing development contributions to reduce costs.
In addition, Labour’s new law introduced a highly complex freshwater management process, it has given submitters the right to cross-examine each other during RMA hearings, and it has targeted farmers with draconian restrictions that require some operators to develop freshwater farm plans that must be certified and audited, nitrogen monitoring logs that must be inspected, additional waterway fencing, and stronger penalties for non-compliance.
This RMA amendment is one of four separate initiatives involving the RMA that are being undertaken by the Labour-Green-New Zealand First Government.
Hypocritically, while Minister Parker had criticised National’s restrictions on consultation that aimed to prevent activist groups holding up resource consent applications, two of his own Government’s initiatives will bypass the RMA and public consultation entirely.
The Urban Development Bill contains new powers that would enable a new Urban Development Authority to bypass the RMA by establishing its own streamlined planning and consenting process. A hearing panel headed by an Environment Court Judge, would limit consultation – except with Maori interests.
And the new COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act also bypasses the RMA through a separate fast-track consenting and designation process for ‘shovel-ready’ infrastructure and development projects. The Government wants to get work underway without the need for resource consents. As a result, they plan to avoid public consultation altogether – except with Maori interests.
The final RMA-reform measure undertaken by Labour was the establishment of another taskforce. According to the chair of the Resource Management Review Panel, retired Appeal Court Judge Tony Randerson, “Serious challenges have emerged in our ability to respond quickly to urban development pressures and to house our people in liveable communities. And we are facing a significant new threat in dealing with climate change. The natural environment has also suffered with deteriorating freshwater quality in our streams and rivers and diminishing biodiversity amongst many concerns.”
Judge Randerson explained that a priority of their proposed reforms was to ensure “that the principle of partnership inherent in the Treaty moves towards an everyday reality.”
As a result, we should expect that the recommendations, which were due at the end of June, will more than likely bring the ambition of the Maori elite to control natural resources within New Zealand another step closer.
The Labour Government has acknowledged that the RMA has become so complex and time consuming that it is a barrier to getting things done. However, instead of fixing the problem for everyone, their solution has been to pass new laws that sidestep the Act altogether – for their own government projects. Other Kiwis have been left to struggle through a cripplingly bureaucratic process that is literally killing initiative and entrepreneurial activity in New Zealand.
This country urgently needs a government with the courage to repeal the RMA and replace it with common-sense environmental and planning laws that avoid capture by activist groups – including iwi leaders who are driven by tribal self-interest instead of the good of the country.
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THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
*Do you agree with Environment Minister David Parker that his changes to include climate change effects into the RMA will reduce complexity and increase certainty?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| This Governments contempt for democracy and voters is very clear. Laws and policy that favour one race against all others in privilege and status based on perceived entitlement, lies and deception, will reap what they sow: distrust of that race, social disunity and racial division can only be the result. | Sam |
| Another case of the current government changing things to suit themselves and Maori. Heaven help us if they get in again. They just seem hell bent on taking New Zealand backwards. | Fraser |
| NO! Climate change is certain. Our contribution to it is not. Carbon is an essential element that helps the greening of the world and food production. | Douglas |
| What a mess!! | John |
| Surely the Right Dishonourable David Clark is too busy mountain biking at the beach to have the time to try and understand how global warming doesn’t work? | Mark |
| anything that this useless bunch of no hoper’s do to the rma will increase cost and encourage corruption which is already alive and well in councils through out nz and the only certainty is this country has gone to the dogs. | Richard |
| It will have exactly the opposite effects | Craig |
| More uncertainty, especially as Maori interests have to be taken into account – and how long will that take? The provisions in this law favour Maori over everyone else. The sooner we have one law for everyone the better. At present we seem to be going in the opposite direction. | Laurence |
| simplify and reduce | Tony |
| When you bring the biggest hoax of the 21st Century, Carbon Emission Climate change to an already over burdened piece of bureaucracy, it’s a complete disaster. These People are just following a very stupid Political Agenda. Nothing Practical. | Geoff |
| Just more Govt bullshit rules | Sam |
| Just another lot of incompetence from people who have no business being where they are. Lets get rid of them while we still have the chance. | Don |
| If he thinks that, he’s clearly had no practical experience in applying for a consent. This gives even more power to the petty tyrant planners at Council, has to cost more, with applicants having to calculate their emission effects and Council planners verifying them. Once again the only big winners are the lawyers and professional consultants. | Richard |
| Could someone please save us from the parasitic ‘green party’? They serve no electorate, have been voted in by no-one and their Marxist goals are to harm and flatten the economy as is Comrade Ardern’s. They need to be the first to go in the next election along with Climate Ardern. D. Parker is also a nasty piece of work, time for him to retire. | Monica |
| Drive a stake through the heart of the RMA!!! REAL New Zealand was built without it – UNREAL New Zealand can’t do without it. Also, drive a stake through any draftings of law by the former Labour Leader Geoffrey Palmer, the man who before he attained power, gloatingly, wanted to nationalise New Zealand. Nationalising anything is akin to theft of private property. Capitalism Creates – Socialism Plunders. | Don |
| More Green based idiotic moves from this Government. | Gifford |
| The RMA is a shambles and is preventing progress while hugely increasing costs for every new project. Further tinkering with legislation that is past its Use By date won’t help NZ to recover the damage done by the government’s restrictive actions during lockdown. The present government hasn’t delivered anything meaningful in the last 3 years and have no idea of the drive and disciplines required to make things happen. The RMA amendment won’t change the fact that they don’t know how to deliver. All they can do is talk about stuff, appoint committees and then fail to carry out their recommendations. | Kerry |
| This cobbled together govt is made up of left leaning list MPs. They are obsessed with everything Maori. There was never any mention of a partnership in the Treaty, just that we are all equal citizens with equal rights. This govt are bending over backwards to meet the demands of the Maori elite and to hell with the rest of us. | Carolyn |
| How can introducing climate change into anything reduce the complexity of any thing not make more room for problems | john |
| Complete and utter incompetence on Parkers part. The RMA needs complete scrapping and rewritten simply with the original aims identified and included. | Peter |
| An emphatic NO! | Steve |
| This Government is out of control, putting Maori in favoured positions and writing special laws to appease them at every turn | Phil |
| This is an effing travesty based on zero science. | Brooke |
| When did we as a country actually have a discussion as to whether we agree that humans are having a significant effect on the climate especially here in NZ with our 5 million people. I feel people have been bullied and brainwashed into this extreme thinking. My hope is we will get a strong sensible politician to speak up and stand against these people and politicians that want to go along with the more extreme views and threaten our economic future. I don’t see any at present sadly. | Marty |
| HAD ENOUGH OF THIS RUBBISH…..’ THAT R M A ACT IS JUST SOMETHING ELSE TO BEAT US TO DEATH WITH. Just get the country clean enough and bug free so we can get on with improving the Economy of the nation and the Health and prosperity of all our assorted People. He tangata he tangata he tangata. Stuff the RMA act. Bye Bye….. | Mabel |
| Firstly, let’s qualify what exactly so called “Climate Change” actually is. Hotter? Colder ? Static?. Same as always. No body is sure but we have to have a cause to pursue to get headlines. | John |
| The Climate Cult uses Theories and Hypothesis to create political argument that will de-industrialise western democracies. It is reasonable to demand Quantitative Evidence prior to forcing millions into poverty and despair due to the shut-down of industries and the removal of daily used, household products. Quantitative evidence has not been established! SOME 6,000 EVERYDAY PRODUCTS THAT WE USE ARE MADE FROM OIL AND THE MAJORITY OF THESE PRODUCTS CONTAIN ONE OR MORE POLLUTANTS MADE FROM THE REFINING OF PETROLEUM OR GAS OR THE COMBUSTION OF FOSSIL FUELS. The three largest gases in our atmosphere; Nitrogen Oxygen and Argon make up 99.96% of the atmosphere. Thus, the remaining gases are Microscopic, including Carbon-Dioxide and Methane. Mankind’s production of CO2 is 0.0018% or 1/1, 000th of 1% and 0.00001% or 1/100,000th of 1% for Methane. Earth’s atmosphere (Troposphere) is 5,000 Trillion Tonnes of Mass. The saying; ‘You may as well p** in the ocean’ would seem appropriate for those that fear the destruction of the Planet is imminent! As number crunching Technocrats we have identified five fatal flaws in the Climate Cult Theories. The Truth is mankind is not responsible for any global warming. It is past high time that the Science “Industry” now in the grip of Socialism needs an international body to force “rational” and “factual” science to be brought to the surface. Lets call it the ISO (International Science Organisation) | Frederick |
| Time to scrap the whole Act. It is the only way for the nation to progress. | Peter |
| More garbage – it needs to be repealed. | Roy |
| Crap | Gary |
| Of course not. | Lee |
| I am afraid David Parker has no idea of what he is doing. | Dennis |
| David Parker is very nefarious, just ask some his former business partners | Murray |
| Yet another lie to add to the list of lies this government tells the public, aided & abetted by the corrupt left wing press | John |
| Typical leftie stuff. | gerald |
| Def not!! Just a way to appease the Greens as Labour become more nervous leading up to the election. | Salve |
| This is yet another move on the way to a socialist paradise where the productive sector is not allowed to do anything | Mike |
| It is my opinion that the Labour Govt has committed TREASON as these contentious bills are being discussed/ passed by parliament in private. The labour govt is looking after the greens and the maoris to help them back into govt at the next election. NZ MUST get rid of this MARXIST/COMMUNIST government !!! | ROD |
| they have made everything worse .anything they do usually does | Barry |
| More devious shenanigans by this government | Bev |
| The man, like the rest of the cabinet, is a blithering idiot | Jneey |
| Typical BS spin by Labour to support stupid legislation | David |
| A continuation of the development of the command economy by Comrade Jacinda – govermint knows best and entrepreneural activity aka ‘profit making’ to be suppressed | Dick (Richard) |
| The RMA has never been about its original well intentioned principles. Only petty and jealous bureaucrats having their 5 seconds of power | Richard |
| the zero carbon issue is a complete nonsense but skilfully used by a deceitful left wing bunch of idiots | david |
| This country is very subtly being politically strangled – “lock us up” and “we will control you – because we know best”. Just look at the various hopeless Minister’s decisions – Health, Transport, Housing, Forestry, Rail etc. as they attempt to apply the inhibiting/confusing RMA act! Climate is controlled and changes by forces of NATURE. Why haven’t the many devastating northern hemisphere floods raised our sea levels. They haven’t – on the very same beach I sat on today and have done for my last (dare I admit it) eighty years! Can’t remember the first four years playing in the sand – but the sand and the sea still roll up to greet me – same level year after year! | Stuart |
| RMA and ETS must be repealed, and start with common sense bad for new law | Rod |
| Parker sounds like the Democrats in America, saying what people want to hear while doing the opposite. Career politician BS. What is their agenda? | Troy |
| The more considerations required the more complexity. Anyone with half a functioning brain cell would know that. The government has lost the plot completely – that’s if it ever had one. | Kevin |
| No! Parker has got to be joking. Anyone pulling that kind of rort must be dumped at the next election. | Rob |
| The Labour Party pushing laws through parliament by stealth and no accountability towards the real issues of the RMA | Chris |
| the RMA is a mess now and this will only exacerbate that situation | Russell |
| It al is just a sham and a con to allow those with beuracratic meglamaniacal power to fill their pockets with money. Local govt destroys environmental habitats so why would you give these conartists more power to waste money and prosecute the innocent. | Anon |
| The politicians will keep this climate change scam going for as long as they can. This scam is a tool the Marxists use as an excuse for removing NZs democratic rights. As long as people keep voting for these scum nothing will get better. | Rex |
| This is an example of political manoeuvring and mumbo jumbo and is wrong | Peter |
| This policy / legislation is killing NZ. | Jenny |
| How does the management of our resources influence global climate change? The effects of New Zealand on global climate change are negligible and will make no difference to the inevitable outcome. Climate change is coming whether we like it or not – it has been happening for millions of years. Better to utilise resources in preparation, because we cannot prevent it. These changes merely provide more waffle for bureaucracy (job creation?), higher development costs and additional project delays. We ultimately pay the price for letting fools lead us! | Martin |
| If not reading NZCPR newsletter how will the average person in NZ know what is happening? | Marianne |
| Nuts | beryl |
| Yet another example of the green tail wagging the labour dog! Jacinderella is running scared as the election gets closer. | TOBY |
| We MUST stop the rot! | Alan |
| These changes, along no doubt with future intended changes, should we end up with a Labour-Green government, are designed to drag NZ back to the past, and into a nationalised economic system – Communisim. | Bob |
| no such thing as climate change | Dave |
| Absolute rubbish. These. Words are spoken to “appease” people listening by stating a falsehood. Otherwise known as a lie! | Neil |
| The beliefs and actions of the people in this government are going to destroy any chances for people and the country to thrive and prosper in the future. | Charles |
| What climate change? | Janet |
| Climate Change is a political ploy . It has nothing to do with natural changes in climate which come and go with the seasons. It started with the Global warming hoax and simply continues the same lying assertions concerning carbon emissions. Because the assertions have been repeated for so long many people believe them. I am not silly enough to deny extremes of weather but they are not man-made (unless deliberately by means which we are not aware of. It is a sinister means of taxation and control but harmful to our economy and progress. | Harvey |
| Completely nonsensical | Hilary |
| The RMA is a disaster. It is the biggest reason for our housing and commercial development crisis. Instead of laws being written to help development the RMA is a stumbling block which stops quick development and causes massive costs. The latest changes to the the RMA is a direct result of legislation of Green stealth and must be contested at the elections. The Green’s climate Change and now RMA changes will bring hardship to many low and mid earners. NZ is an extremely low emitter yet the Green are proposing such sweeping changes that will damage our economy and make no real difference to world carbon emissions. | Graeme |
| the rma is an extortion peace of legislation that needs getting rid of | Ian |
| Of course not Parker has been devious and dishonest in the passing of this law | Terry |
| The RMA is a complete disaster When it was initially passed I thought it was good in that it allowed development if it was not specifically banned. Today with all the amendments it is the absolute opposite and with the connivance of both parties in government it has been hijacked by the Maori Elite to further their aims of total control over all aspects of life in New Zealand. I have a property development in mind that will double the dwellings on my property from four to a minimum of eight but am so weary of the costs imposed by the RMA that I have put the matter on hold at present. Now the inclusion of Global Warming it will be virtually impossible to do any development at all. Global Warming as that is what is meant by Climate Change has not occurred for nearly twenty years and we are probably heading for a period of cooling so lets burn as much fossil fuel as we can to try and stop the cooling | Robin |
| Unfortunately we have come to a place where neither major party seems to have an ounce of common sense. They all espouse policies that they hope will offend no one. Even when they are damaging to the Nation. I have had a guts full of all of them. They change laws leave parliament and then assume no responsibility for the disasters they create. There are many examples, particularly in the social area. Jenny Shipley 18 year old drinking. | dene |
| It,s ONLY been changed to assist any laws labour want & is a VICTORY for the greens (who labour might need to be the next govt.& it makes it MORE easy for iwi to control things,it,s done NOTHING for NZ ONLY raised costs for kiwi,s. | Cindy |
| doing things by stealth sums this current government up totally cant be trusted | richard |
| No no no no no no no no no no no no ……. | Graeme |
| A display of astounding hypocrisy. | Kevin |
| We need rid of it altogether. | Carol |
| Do as I say, oh happy day, dictatorship is on its way. | Richard |
| Just another white wash by this Govt | Russell |
| Absolute abuse of citizens rights and increase of Maori rights over others | peter |
| More bureaucracy and more confusion as to where the country is going. | Brian |
| it’s well past time the rma was scrapped. | william |
| This whole climate change subterfuge has now be refuted by even the most ardent activist Michael Shellenberger in his latest book ‘Apocalypse, Never’. Many of us have always put greater faith in the scientific basis rather than the political conspiracy of computer modelling. | Tony |
| This is another abuse of democratic process by the current government. They cannot be trusted. | Peter |
| David Parker is a criminal from the clark govt, no one should listen to him, he filed between five and nine false statements to the Companies Office, Parker says he is guilty and resigned from cabinet, But clark conveniently found a letter that cleared him. David Parker will be reinstated to the Cabinet next week after a Companies Office inquiry emphatically cleared him of filing false returns – but he is unlikely to regain his role as Attorney-General, I wonder why. | Gerald |
| What utter rubbish ! The UN desperately needs funds, their climate change program is a scam, and Jacinda supporting their agenda on climate change, is simply to boost her international image & provide them with funds they need. | Pierre |
| This is becoming more like “big brother” type politics than ever before. The current coalition is very good at saying in public what they think the general public wants to hear and then behind closed doors, progressing the socialist beliefs that they all hold without any consultation other than from those that believe in the same form of governance. | Barry |
| Absolute rubbish.It is yet an other example of ”taking over” by stealth, more social engineering.The ill-drafted RMA document, and its principal author [geofrey palmer] share one thing in common, an inability to appreciate the value and beauty of simplicity.Further both would appear to have little knowledge of the earth sciences. | gale |
| Leopard does not change its spots. | Geoff |
| NO NO NO | John |
| What all this does is increase uncertainty and complexity esp in regards to Maori interests being ever more represented and the rest of us can go stuff themselves. This whole affair stinks to heaven and is just another nail into the coffin of NZ democracy .It becomes more and more obvious who actually runs the show here. | Michael |
| Time for a party to have guts a d call climate change science for what it is, fraud. | Andy |
| Definitely not | Graeme |
| Repeal the act. | Robert |
| Once again Labour has demonstrated their incompetence. Unfortunately much of their deceptive policy making does not directly, or obviously, affect the people who support them. All New Zealanders will, in some way, suffer from this legislation but they won’t be aware of why it is happening – people, in many cases, are so disinterested in the detail of political activity that the read little like these articles and, worse yet, do not understand the consequences of what the read. | Alastair |
| The RMA is just a revenue gathering exercise and adding climate change is just increasing the burdon | Colin |
| Parker is a weak idiot catering to the lunatic greens | John |
| The manipulation and ineptitude just go on and on. I despair for this country. | Joyce |
| As National MP 1991 refused to vote for RMA. Parkers changes pathetic | Jeff |
| Law by stealth | KEVIN |
| There is very little that I trust this govt to do for the good of the people. Climate change matters are the last thing I wouthing I trust them on. | Robin |
| Is he a lier or an idiot? | Alister |
| Including climate change effects into the RMA will be a cost to councils altering their district and will undoubtedly delay the resource consent process at a council level and Environment court. It opens the door to a raft of objection from climate activists. Training Planning committee members in the complexities of carbon emissions criteria at significant costs to the ratepayers…Consultants expertise…even more cost to the applicant and councils. | Kathy |
| The RMA should be scrapped. A new phrase needs to be introduced into our vocab. COMMON SENSE | tony |
| that is plain bulls..t !! | norman |
| It will complicate things substantially. | Tony |
| Climate Change is a hoary chestnut, only run out by pollies who are breft of other sane reasons for their actions. | Dave |
| Its a bullshit slight of hand waving exercise – a simple RC costs in excess of $50,000 when simple broad town planning principle would do the same job | Rex |
| The RMA is an extremely bad piece of Labour party legislation which should have been repealed many many years ago. Thanks Jeffery Palmer for nothing… | Richard |
| More rubbish – he either doesn’t understand or is an extreme activist | Peter |
| Not only that its racist as it favours one race over others. Imagine they outcry if pakeha had favourable treatment over Maori. | Trevor |
| What happened to democracy. Are we heading in the same direction as Hong Kong and letting communism take over any freedoms we have ? I sincerely hope not! | Diana |
| Every change to the rma seems to be a tightening of the noose on new zealanders. | Willy |
| From Labours perspective, it’s all going according to plan. They have sold their souls to the UN’s diabolical Agenda 21, 2030 Agenda to rob our sovereignty under the lies and pretext of Sustainable Development, aka Technocracy, New World Order and a Myriad of other euphemisms and deceptions. This treasonous socialist government must go. | Rossco |
| What a complete and utter f…wit!! | Alan |
| Anything this Winston elected amateur govt. says or does is obviously going to end up a shambles. We see it in slow motion, and how they don’t – well it’s a complete enigma! | LUKE |
| Any attempts to change anything in the RMA legislation will just be to insert more racist, separatist and ‘partnership” agreements that will give Tribes total control over all NEW ZEALAND law. | Bruce C |
| the very idea is laughable. I am losing any hope of this country ever coming back from the disastrous and racist track it’s on 🙁 | Brenda |
| This is ridiculous crap. I can’t believe what’s going on here, this country is heading for ruin. I’m looking to get out of here. | Peter |
| I would suggest it will complicate procedures under the RMA and will have an opposing effect. Could someone otherwise correct me if I have misunderstood . | chris |
| A complete mockery of our so-called democratic process! | Roger |
| It just makes it harder of course. More to comply with must mean more cost and more time and more projects failing. | Andrew |
| Amongst the useless ministers in this Labour govt. are some really dangerous people and this man and Andrew Little are two of the main ones. | Roger |
| The government contempt for democracy is astoundingly shameful | jeff |
| This is a decision by the most totalitarian anti democratic authoritarian government in my lifetime. They are a bunch of bigoted morons. | Tom |
| The RMA has been an absolute fiasco ever since its conception. Several Govts have had opportunities to fix this and the tinkering has only made things worse. We deserve so much better from our so-called Leaders. This current lot is the worst by far and do not have a single firing neuron between them. | Carolyn |
| Discard it altogether and draft a new RMA | Robyn |
| nothing about climate change is good it’s all bullshit and a waste of money | Graeme |
| He has just muddied the waters | Arthur |
| To reduce complexity and increase certainty? Dump the RMA altogether and sack the officials managing it. | Bryan |
| This man for years has been economical with the truth. | Dick |
| I definitely do not agree. Typical of this Labour Government once again another stuff up that will cause significant slow down of processes. Just unbelievable. | Suzanne |
| Parker is a dangerous lefty idiot | Ray |
| Rubbish…..bollocks……. | Bruza |
| When will they ever give this bloody nonsense up | Phil |
| Climate change is a ever present fact that has occurred for 4.5 billion years. Our planet is part of a dynamic system with influences from changes in magnetic poles, Milankovitch theory, plate tectonics and solar ‘flares’ which all are far more significant than very minor changes to CO2 concentration – ‘natural’ by volcanic activity. NET CO2 emmisions as a result of man are disputable and conclusive evidence is yet to be derived. Parker’s motive is fashionable claptrap. I note ‘Climate Change’ has replaced the term ‘Global warming; evidence to disguise their agenda and their insecurity of their factual knowledge. | Terence |
| This type of non-democratic process by a so-called, honest Government, amount to a sell-out of National/Citizen rights on these and other matters. Sadly, I’m certain such measures will hasten the erosion of our collective freedom and aid the on-set of a single world, Political power. How obscene is it, that the leaders of both communist Russia and China, have both secured leadership strategies until 2036? | Alan |
| What a load of hogwash | Ray |
| This is perhaps the greatest expensive con pulled against the world. For one example look up the 500 REAL scientists who wrote to the UN asking for an audience as they say there is NO climate emergency and in fact the planet is greening up more and more — due obviously to a slight increase in CO2 which incidentally is still way below what it was centuries ago when man had no effect on the planet whatsoever. Also look up some REAL climate scientists who are being denied and sued by those making fortunes out of climate change. The science is never settled as any reputable scientist will tell you. There are plenty of great scientific minds to check on to PROVE it’s all bullshit. | Alan |
| Climate Change lies | greg |
| as typical of the COL, another bit of legislation by stealth | Mike |
| Well known fact parker hates the NZ farming community, and will do everything in his power to drive them to the wall. I do wonder just where the money for the country s debt is going to come from when the primary income earner for this country is wiped out, unfortunately academics have very little in the top story, they think they walk on water, and money grows on trees, here’s hoping that Sept bring in a party/parties that understand economics, and not the garbage they have learnt at Uni, academics should be banned from entering parliament, unless they have worked in the REAL world. | Merryl |
| I do not | jenny |
| Its time the RMA was redrafted to work \for ALL New Zealand s equally and NO self interest groups. The country has reach a point where any racist clauses are no longer required. We are all equal in the eyes of the law, or so it should be | Alan |
| What an abuse of power by Labour/Greens/NZFirst. Parliament is supreme, and there are long standing conventions surrounding the amendment of legislation. Gathering a few thousand Green submissions, and a sloppy NZFirst does not make select committee processes proper or democratic. This insidious taking the knee to Maori interests will backfire spectacularly. Just a reminder, Cooke J did not explicitly say the TOW was a partnership. In a blatant act of judicial activism he made a comment on two parties involved in a case before him. That does not raise the word ‘partnership’ to a legal dicta. | Michael |
| The whole topic of “Climate Change”is a farce. Nobody has yet adequately defined exactly what we are talking about. Lets get that done first. If you asked 100 people what they thought it was you would get 100 different answers. For a start, what time line are we talking about. Is it 50 years, 100 years, 1000 years or a million years. Climate change is a fact. Sea levels have not risen in 100 years. Temperature fluctuations are followed by fluctuations in carbon dioxide NOT PRECEDED BY IT! We would not have evolved without it variations in climate.. So what arrogance to think humans can influence it. As for “carbon”didn’t these politicians take biology? Water plus carbon dioxide plus sunlight equals photosynthesis equals the life blood of all alife on earth. We are at the lowest levels for years – yes it increased over the past 50 years and man is responsible for less than 1% of that. The remainder is natural. And by the way our current levels of 400 plus ppm are inadequate for expanding vegetation. We need 1200 or more. What planet are these people on….? This is all left wing political nonsense. Total crap actually. They need to get educated. | Greg |
| Absolutely not. | William |
| I’m 77 years old been there done that and am I getting fed up with all the nonsense regarding global warming and racial discrimination for a start if the globe is warming it’s cyclical and there is very little we can do to reverse it discrimination is I feel in the eye of the beholder everyone is just waiting to be offended | Peter |
| Climate change cost to the tax payer is going to cripple lower income N.Z`rs | Colin |
| This government is the most detrimental regime our country has every lived under. They must be removed even if it takes the Governor General. | Chris |
| Climate modelling can’t accurately predict the weather next week – let alone in years to come. | Maurice |
| Stop being so negative, always against the Govt no matter what. It made Simon Bridges look stupid and now it’s wearing thin again | Kevin |
| Codswollop | Wolf |
| The RMA should be trashed. It is a nightmare of complexity and impracticalities. | Ronnie |
| So what’s new with politicians??? | Raewyn |
| RMA is a disaster. | Bill |
| More false pretences from a MMP concoction. | Kevin |
| More leftist claptrap | Alan |
| Morons can only see what is right in front of them and not downline ramifications. | Chris |
| Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha<ha…hehehehe. what a joke. | Dave |
| David Parker’s claims are just a sick joke – as a result of his changes the RMA will change from a disaster to a crisis. | Lauren |
| Words fail me – why wasn’t I given the opportunity to have a say on the incredibly bad idea of including climate change in RMA consents? It is a betrayal of the democratic process that will make the law unworkable once the green activists get involved. | Stewart |
| Labour has trashed our democratic rights to be consulted on this major change to consenting laws. Its an abuse of power. | Nigel |
| Absolutely not. David Parker is delusional if he thinks including climate change in the RMA will reduce complexity and add certainty. | William |
| Labour’s new RMA will allow climate activists to hold up progress. The whole consent process is becoming so costly and risky that no-one will bother trying to do things anymore. So at a time when the country needs investment and growth, Labour’s new law will stifle it. | Grant |