Reform Series - Resource Management Bills Race Towards the Election
Reform Series - Resource Management Bills Race Towards the Election
Thursday 20 August, 2026
The Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill remain on track for enactment before Parliament rises for the election, expected around 24 September 2026. Parliament accepted all Select Committee recommendations at the Second Reading on 4 August 2026, and the Government has since flagged further changes via Amendment Papers following Cabinet decisions — most notably a controversial proposal to block existing Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements from transitioning into the new system. Some of the key recommendations from the Select Committee are discussed below.
- The Select Committee retained the Bills' "funnel" structure, where national instruments set direction for the whole system, but rejected calls for a Board of Inquiry process for public input into National Policy Direction — instead giving the Minister discretion to seek comment as they see fit. The Minister also gained broader discretion in making National Policy Direction, with some mandatory considerations removed. Changes were made to reduce overlap between National Policy Direction and National Standards and to ease conflicts between goals, though no hierarchy of goals was introduced. Instead, it will be made clear that not all goals need to be met at all times.
- Councils are given some extra time to prepare Regional Spatial Plans. However, councils will have an extra task to complete during this time: a new pre-notification consultation stage requiring engagement with government and community parties. Spatial plan committees, which develop Regional Spatial Plans, will also be required to consider new information and identify whether to commence a review of the plan.
- Environmental limits under the Natural Environment Bill have been weakened, with the Minister given greater power to permit breaches via National Standards. Four guardrails were recommended to constrain this, including a public-benefit-versus-harm test that may ease the path for infrastructure projects.
- In respect of Māori Interests and Treaty Settlements, market-based and comparative-assessment allocation mechanisms were removed over fairness concerns and risks to unresolved Māori freshwater rights. Spatial plan committees must now include at least one member with Te Ao Māori expertise, and Treaty settlement redress protections will be preserved even after the two-year negotiation provision is repealed. Separately, the Government has announced plans (going beyond the Select Committee's own recommendations) to remove the mechanism allowing existing Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements to transition into the new system; this is expected to appear in an Amendment Paper at Committee of the whole House.
- In the transition period (during which the RMA remains in force), consent authorities will consider a narrower scope of effects under the RMA, councils may make targeted district plan changes to remove out-of-scope provisions, and private plan changes will generally be barred absent a Ministerial exemption. The overall transition period has been extended by nine months.
Overall, the Select Committee favoured technical fixes over major policy change, notably retaining the Regulatory Relief scheme (requiring councils to compensate landowners for significant land use restrictions), despite criticism that it is unaffordable and litigation-prone.
What's next?
The Bills proceed to the Committee of the whole House, where Minister Hon Christopher Bishop will be questioned. Further changes are expected, reflecting the Cabinet decisions announced since the Select Committee report. We will continue to monitor progress.
