May 20, 2014
RMA rewrite to become election issue
The Maori Party is claiming credit for blocking a radical rewrite of the Resource Management Act.
Environment Minister Amy Adams says National is not prepared to water down its reforms, so it won’t bring the bill back to parliament before the election.
She also rejected an offer from Labour leader David Cunliffe to support changes that would speed up housing consents.
Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell says the rewrite went far beyond streamlining consent processes, and would dilute the emphasis on environmental sustainability.
He says economic development was given priority over environmental considerations, and the kaitiakitanga that Maori wished to express was undermined.
The reform also risked creating uncertainty that would lead to years of litigation.
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