The New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects Tuia Pito Ora is urging Parliament to take the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s concerns over the Government’s proposed Resource Management Act replacement laws seriously, warning the reforms deserve greater scrutiny before becoming law.
The organisation says the Commissioner for the Environment has outlined wide-ranging concerns in a detailed submission to Members of Parliament, raising questions about whether the proposed legislation strikes the right balance between economic development and environmental protection.
According to the Institute, the scale and significance of the issues identified warrant additional parliamentary examination, particularly given the limited number of sitting days remaining before the bills return to the House for their second reading. It argues that lawmakers and the public still lack important detail about how the new planning framework will operate in practice.
The warning comes as the Government continues its overhaul of New Zealand’s resource management system, replacing the Resource Management Act with two new pieces of legislation designed to reshape planning and environmental decision-making. The Environment Committee has reported both bills back to Parliament with a range of recommended amendments, but they remain the subject of significant debate among environmental organisations, local government and planning professionals.
The Institute says landscape planning plays a critical role in balancing environmental, cultural and economic interests, including protecting natural landscapes, managing natural hazards, supporting green infrastructure and creating healthy communities. It believes these considerations should remain central to any new planning system.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has previously expressed concern that aspects of the proposed framework could weaken environmental protections and leave too much discretion to future ministers through national policy direction rather than legislation itself. The Commissioner has also questioned whether separating planning and environmental management into two separate statutes will provide a coherent system for managing New Zealand’s natural resources.
The Institute says the reforms represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernise New Zealand’s planning laws, but warns that rushing the legislation without fully considering the Commissioner’s recommendations risks undermining the long-term protection of the country’s built, productive and natural environments.
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