Replacing the Resource Management Act: Government introduces new planning system, with RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop saying new system will strengthen property rights and restore 'freedom' for New Zealanders

The Government has long been outspoken about its plans to overhaul the Resource Management Act, having called it "broken" and a "handbrake on growth and opportunity".

And to further their sweeping reforms, on Tuesday the Government released details of a new planning system.

The new planning system is intended to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), and the Government announced it would be introducing a Planning Bill and a Natural Environment Bill on Tuesday afternoon - with the aim of passing them into law in 2026.

If the Bills are passed, direction under the new Planning Act would cover urban development, infrastructure and natural hazards while the Natural Environment Act will cover freshwater, indigenous biodiversity and coastal policy. Both pieces of legislation would replace the RMA.

'Cast off the shackles'

For over 30 years, the RMA has been the main piece of law setting out how the country manages its environment. According to the Ministry for the Environment, the RMA means councils set rules and requirements to manage things like building houses, clearing vegetation and taking water from streams.

“Its purpose is to ensure activities won’t harm our neighbours or communities, or damage the air, water, soil and ecosystems that we and future generations need to survive,” the Ministry of Environment’s website says.

But Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop, who is also the Minister for RMA Reform and Housing, said: "Our new planning system is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to cast off the shackles imposed by the broken Resource Management Act, and set New Zealand on a path to economic growth that lifts our living standards and protects the environment." 

National policy direction under the new system would be finalised within nine months of the Bills becoming law, the Government said.

National standards would be delivered in stages and would align with council plan-making needs.

New Zealanders can share their thoughts on the legislation via the Select Committee process. 

When asked about cross-party agreement, Bishop said he was genuinely trying to get a good piece of planning and environment legislation that sets the country up for the 2030s. 

"Because 1991 through 2025, the RMA has not delivered for New Zealand.

"But 2030 through 2060 can be New Zealand's decades if we get this right," Bishop said, and that inevitably meant working with a number of different political parties. 

'$13.3 billion in savings' with 46% of consent & permit applications redundant

Bishop said cost benefit analysis by global strategic advisory firm Castalia Limited estimated that changes contained in the two Bills are projected to save an estimated $13.3 billion in savings over 30 years through reduced administrative and compliance costs.

Alongside this, Gross Domestic Product was projected to increase by at least 0.56% annually by 2050 and increase thereafter, he said. 

Analysis from officials also showed that up to 46% of consent and permit applications required under the current RMA could become unnecessary with the proposed legislation.

And based on 2023/2024 volumes, the Government said this represented between 15,000 and 22,000 consents that would no longer be needed.

Simon Court, an Act Party MP who also worked on RMA reform with Bishop as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Infrastructure, said "we actually think we can probably do better than that by applying national standards, creating committed activity standards for the stuff we already know how to do well every day".

"That will free up councils to focus on just what matters," he said. 

Bishop said "if you don't spend nine months arguing with people about which colour they paint the front door or which way their living room faces, you can actually go and spend time on the things that actually matter, that people want the system to protect". 

One example Bishop brought up when it came to national standards was Electric Vehicle (EV) charging facilities. 

Every time a charging network wanted to build an EV charging station, they had to get resource consent, he said. 

"From a consenting point of view, they're all the same ... it's just every day, one-on-one things we can standards for ... But in New Zealand, we litigate everything, so that's all about to change."  

Bishop said this was going to be a culture change - saying yes instead of saying no.

'Much-needed rebalancing'

Bishop said the Planning Bill would enable “development and regulate land use” and a Natural Environment Bill would “protect nature and encourage the efficient use of land and resources”.

“The new planning system strengthens property rights and restores the freedom for New Zealanders to use their land in ways that affect nobody else.”

Bishop said: “Councils will be required to provide relief to property owners when imposing significant restrictions like heritage protections or significant natural areas.”

“This is a much-needed rebalancing away from a system that allowed councils to impose major costs on property owners without considering the impacts.”

Bishop, who is also the Housing Minister, said: “For too long, the RMA has acted as a handbrake on growth and opportunity. It is directly responsible for New Zealand’s housing crisis - despite us having a land mass comparable to the United Kingdom but just five million people.”

Bishop said the Government ultimately wanted “competitive urban land markets and abundant development opportunities to drive down land prices and create housing choice.”

The Government has been signalling its plans to change the RMA, starting with Parliament passing legislation to repeal the Natural and Built Environment Act, and the Spatial Planning Act in December 2023.

And in March, Bishop said the Government would replace the RMA with “new legislation premised on property rights” and proposed the two new Acts.

The Government has previously also shared key features of the new system which also includes standardised zoning, having a national compliance regulator for the environment, and requiring all regions to have a spatial plan.

Currently New Zealand has 1175 different kinds of zones used by individual councils, Bishop said in March.

The Government shared its intent to move towards a system like Japan which has 13 different types of zones to choose from (six residential, three commercial, three industrial and a special city centre zone).

So what's happening now?

On Tuesday, Bishop said there would be 10 big system shifts.

Bishop said these are:

• Fewer consents: Activities with little impact on others will no longer require consent at all. Many effects will be removed entirely from consideration, including internal site matters, and visual amenity
• Plans: There will be 17 regional combined plans prepared through one process. Plan development will decrease from an average of six to seven years to around two years
• Spatial planning: There will be 30-year regional spatial plans to identify growth areas, infrastructure corridors and areas needing protection
• Clear national direction: There will be less debate due to having a nationally set policy direction
• A more proportionate system: Consent conditions must be “necessary and proportionate”
• More standardisation: There will be planned national standards on zoning
• Regulatory relief: Councils will be required to provide relief mechanisms when imposing restrictions such as heritage protections and significant natural areas
• Conflict resolution: This will be faster through the establishment of a Planning Tribunal
• Environmental protection: The Government will centralise enforcement responsibilities and enable community decision making over water quality.

In a document by the Ministry for the Environment and the Government called Better planning for a better New Zealand: Overview of New Zealand’s new planning system, the Government announced it would be moving to a data-driven and digitally enabled system.

This includes things like having a national e-planning portal where each region has one combined plan and follows a standardised format and structure, and the proposed new Planning Tribunal.

When it comes to having a new Planning Tribunal, the document said: “The Environment Court currently handles most appeals and disputes under the RMA, but this creates a heavy workload.”

The document said it could be costly and complex, and could be hard for people to access.

“The Government plans to set up a Planning Tribunal to deal with smaller disputes more quickly and affordably. The Environment Court will still handle more significant cases.”

What about existing consents? 

Bishop said there will be urgent legislation this year to extend consents currently in the process or due to expire prior to the new planning Bills passing. 

Consents due to expire under the RMA will be extended via the new planning Bills until at least mid-2031, and RMA consents that are not due to expire will be brought into the new planning system with their existing terms and conditions. 

There would be an ability to obtain a new consent under the new planning system from mid-2026.

'These reforms are long overdue'

Infrastructure New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett said the two new Bills would provide certainty and drive the infrastructure development New Zealand desperately needed. 

"New Zealand has to move much faster when it comes to delivering the critical infrastructure our communities rely on, in this context, these reforms are long overdue," Leggett said. 

But Forest & Bird said the reforms could weaken critical environmental safeguards and put native species and landscapes at greater risk. 

"These reforms are the biggest changes to environmental protections in generations," Forest & Bird's General Counsel Erika Toleman said.

“Splitting land-use planning from environmental management could lead to duplicated processes, complex cross-references, and more litigation as councils and communities try to reconcile two Acts with potentially conflicting purposes."

With the reforms focusing on property rights, Toleman said big environmental issues - from deforestation to water pollution happen within property boundaries.

"Excluding these effects is a recipe for decline." 

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) - an organisation that supports local councils - said while councils welcomed the move towards more clarity, funding to implement it would be necessary to do it well. 

LGNZ's vice president Rehette Stoltz said the organisation would be advocating for funding and support to manage these changes effectively. "We'll be asking the Government to make this a focus in Budget '26." 

Meanwhile the organisation's regional sector chair Deon Swiggs said these reforms would have a major impact on regional councils. 

“Jobs, trade and the economy rely on New Zealand’s natural resources; the work to protect the environment will still need to be done by regional councils until the new system is in place.” 

The chief executive of business advocacy organisation Business NZ, Katherine Rich, said: "Together, the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill standardise rules targeted towards reducing the amount of compliance and provides better recognition of the burden landowners face when some planning controls limit the use of their land."

"We must achieve broad buy-in from political parties so that businesses can feel more confident in developing property in ways that maximise the contribution our vast natural resource base can contribute to New Zealand's future economic well-being," Rich said.