This bill repeals the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 and the Spatial Planning Act 2023 and provides for an interim fast-track consenting process.
Parliament advanced this bill under urgency (committee of whole house, first reading, second reading, third reading) — moving it through faster than usual, with less time than normal for public submissions.
These are claims MPs made in Parliament’s debate — not verified facts.
This bill repeals two major planning laws — the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 and the Spatial Planning Act 2023 — which had together replaced the long-standing Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). Repealing them reinstates the RMA 1991 as the main law governing how land, water and the environment are managed and how consents for development are granted. It also puts in place interim fast-track consenting to speed approvals for certain infrastructure and development projects while a longer-term replacement system is designed. It affects developers, councils, iwi and hapū, and communities.
It is a government bill delivering a coalition commitment to scrap the previous government's RMA overhaul; it repeals two named Acts and restores an earlier one. The argument in favour is that the 2023 Acts were complex, costly and rushed, so reverting to the familiar RMA plus fast-tracking reduces delay and uncertainty for building homes and infrastructure. The argument against is that repealing barely-implemented reforms creates further churn, and that fast-track consenting is criticised for sidelining environmental protections and public input.
See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.