Kerre Woodham: Is this the David who has tamed the RMA Goliath?

Is Environment Minister, David Parker, the David who has tamed the RMA Goliath?

The Resource Management Act as an absolute monster that's chewed up and spat out politicians of yesteryear, who have attempted to tame it in the past and bring it under control. 

Now David Parker says he has done that. He and previous Ministers have noted that the Resource Management Act has failed at two of its key tasks; to allow development to take place and to protect the environment. The two should not be mutually exclusive. You should be able to allow for development, but not at the cost of the environment. 

So the Government has come up with three new laws to replace the act. One law will focus on planning. One will set rules for land use and the allocation of resources, and one will deal with the effects of climate change. One hundred RMA plans will be reduced to 15 - one for each geographical region.

They have promised that the new laws will be cheaper, faster and better. The Government will set a directional framework and then the 15 regions will operate with. There will be more of a general idea of what's expected and required rather than ad hoc, willy-nilly decisions.  That is the theory.

What do the poor people at the coalface of dealing with the RMA have to say about the changes? Well, some are cautiously optimistic. Might work, might be faster, and might be cheaper. Some say the Act is fine. It's just the way it was misused and abused. 

I mercifully haven't had to have any dealings with the RMA to my knowledge, other than as a taxpayer. But for those of you who have had to try and interpret it, do your interpretive dance according to the instructions in the manual, I’d love to hear your views. 

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