Post by Marie Doole

Resource management compliance people may be interested to know that in the recent proactively released Cabinet paper on simplifying local government, decisions regarding the national environmental regulator were delayed until the next Parliamentary term. You can find the discussion in paras 55-58 and the decision relates to Recommendation 20 It's good to see a pathway that provides for much better consultation and engagement, which will no doubt bolster the quality of analysis underlying any future proposals "National environmental regulator 55. The RMA Expert Advisory Group (EAG) recommended that in the new planning system compliance and enforcement functions should be transferred to a national regulator with regional compliance hubs. Cabinet agreed to progress policy work on this proposal after the Planning and Natural Environment Bills pass. 56. I (the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform) have considered the national regulator recommendation in light of our work to simplify local government. Before Cabinet considers any institutional change of this scale, we must be clear whether the core problem is one of structure, or whether it is more fundamentally about capability, resourcing, data systems, and nationally consistent monitoring tools and rules. 57. Further work is therefore required to test: - how roles between central and local government would remain clear, proportionate, and non-duplicative 9(2)(f)(iv) - what happens to complementary functions (broader than those considered by the EAG) such as environmental reporting, science, and data; - the likely costs and benefits of moving the function from local to central government; and - alignment with the timing and approach of the backstop for SLG. 58. I intend to report back to Cabinet on progressing this work in the new year after officials work with local authorities, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, and others on the merits of different approaches. For now, our priority is supporting councils to implement the new planning system." https://lnkd.in/eXkcv-sD