Should the Resource Management Act be replaced with a new Planning Bill that narrows what councils can regulate and standardises planning rules and zones nationally?
This government bill replaces the planning and land-use functions of the Resource Management Act 1991, working alongside the separate Natural Environment Bill. It establishes a tiered planning system running from a defined purpose and goals through national policy direction and standards down to regional combined plans and consents.
MPs’ arguments for and against the bill
Why support it
Supporters argued the RMA tried to combine planning, resource management and environmental protection in one law and failed, contributing to high housing and infrastructure costs.
Supporters said narrowing the range of regulated effects and raising consent thresholds could cut consent volumes by an estimated 46 percent and let people do more on their land without seeking permission.
Supporters argued standardising zones and reducing about 100 plans to 17, with a top-down hierarchy, would create faster, more consistent and more certain decisions.
Why oppose it
Opponents argued splitting planning and environment into two separate bills is unnecessary and wrongly assumes development can be neatly separated from environmental impact.
Opponents said the emphasis on property rights and regulatory takings would require councils to compensate for heritage and landscape protections, which they expected to discourage councils from providing those protections.
Opponents argued the bill reduces the role of mana whenua compared with earlier legislation and possibly compared with the RMA.
These are claims MPs made in Parliament’s debate — not verified facts.
Full bill summary & link to official bill page
A government bill that replaces the planning and land-use side of the Resource Management Act 1991 — the country's main rulebook for how land can be developed. It sets up a tiered system: a clear purpose and national direction at the top, flowing down through national standards to combined regional plans and the consents people need to build or subdivide. It runs alongside a companion Natural Environment Bill that covers environmental protection.
The reform aims to cut more than 100 council plans down to about 17 regional 'combined plans' to speed up development and reduce cost. It follows years of review and replaces an earlier Labour-led attempt that the current government repealed. Supporters say it would end a 'culture of no' and unlock housing and infrastructure; critics say it risks weakening environmental safeguards and Māori input.