RMA reform on urban development too timid
Proposals to reform the Resource Management Act (RMA) made by a Government advisory group are a missed opportunity when it comes to urban development says Labour’s Associate Environment spokesperson Phil Twyford.
“The proposal to raise the status of urban development in the RMA is a good idea but New Zealanders would be forgiven for expecting more after four years of work by ministers and officials,” Phil Twyford said.
“The RMA desperately needs reforming to take into account the need for more affordable housing, and good urban design. At the moment it is very focused on the natural environment and has little to say about the built environment.
“Of the seven matters of national importance in the Act only one has a direct bearing on cities and that is the protection of historic heritage.
“The architects of the RMA designed it to protect our rivers, wetlands and coast from the effects of development, but they didn’t think about how it might help or hinder the building of our cities.
“By focusing on the adverse effects of development rather than looking at the overall public good that can be achieved, it actually gets in the way of good urban development,” Phil Twyford said.
“In our largest cities we need high quality developments to deliver new housing, modern transport infrastructure, thriving business environments and great public spaces. Unfortunately the RMA does next to nothing to encourage good urban design.
“It adds cost, uncertainty and delays which can deter good developers. The RMA is one of the factors behind the housing affordability crisis.
“The Greens have been reported as saying that adding urban development alongside values such as natural character and the protection of fauna and flora would ‘mean the environment gets traded away for economic gain’. If that’s correct, I find it disappointing.
“Our cities need a different kind of environmentalism. They need more and better developments, not less. Stopping development is not the answer,” Phil Twyford said.