Legislation will prohibit the notification of any new changes to regional policy statements and regional and district plans. It will also prevent notified plan changes from going ahead if they have not yet had a hearing. These will need to be withdrawn within 90 days. The legislation will be passed before the end of the year.

“This is extremely unwelcome and yet another salvo in this government’s war on nature,” said, EDS CEO Gary Taylor.

“It would, effectively, prevent any further implementation of national direction under the Resource Management Act, like the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity. It will also stop councils from improving any environmental outcomes in plans.

“The justification is that it would be inefficient for councils to make changes to their plans when the RMA is set to be replaced with a new system in a couple of years’ time. The rhetoric is all about wasted effort.

“But what’s truly inefficient is to spend the better part of a decade creating and implementing national direction and then scrapping it. Or for years of work and investment by councils to prepare plans, and even notify them, to be abruptly frozen because of future legislation that we still know very little about and which a new government might repeal anyway.

“The changes are also being framed as a kindness – to relieve pressure on struggling councils. But most councils and their constituents don’t want to be patronised and actually want a better natural environment. Between now and when the new resource management system is stood up in 2027, the environment will continue to decline.

“Astonishingly, all private plan changes will still be allowed. So too will work that delivers on the Government’s priorities like housing and urban development.

“Councils will be able to apply to the Minister for an exemption to progress other plan changes. But this will be completely discretionary, and not linked to the purpose of the RMA. And it is likely councils will simply not bother to apply where they know they will be denied.

“To top it off, the law change is being done by an Amendment Paper, which means an 11th hour change to the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Bill. This will completely bypass scrutiny by select committee and public submissions. Local government won’t have a say.

“It is not just another central government attack on the environment and localism, but also on the democratic process itself,” concluded Mr Taylor.