The future of the Tasman Environment Plan – Aorere ki uta Aorere ki tai

Council's Strategy and Policy Committee in considering pending and potential changes to New Zealand’s environmental legislation has adopted a short-term workstream focus approach to maintain progress for 5-key Environmental Policy workstreams.

A reset of Tasman’s Environmental Policy has become necessary because of the current Government’s program of resource management reform (RM reform). The programme reset maintains momentum and ensures we avoid continuing with work that may have to be repeated in the future.

The short-term focus environmental workstreams are:

• Urban growth - implementing the Nelson Tasman Future Development Strategy.
• Natural Hazards – responding to hazards and climate change.
• Freshwater – implementing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.
• Outstanding Natural Landscapes and Features – progressing a plan change to address a longstanding obligation.
• Coastal – Port Tarakohe and Port Motueka structure plans, marine ecological research, and implementing the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement within the above workstreams.

These workstreams are being progressed via changes to the existing Tasman Resource Management Plan through 2024 to 2026 and reviewed regularly to prioritise whether they remain the same or changes need to be made.

Work on policy outside of the short-term focus workstreams, will be paused until there is clarity on the future. However, there are projects that will continue alongside the focus workstreams, and they are:

• Future Development Strategy implementation
• Mapua and Motueka spatial plans
• Deferred zoning
• Existing plan changes (Wakefield and Motueka)
• Tasman Resource Management Plan - on-line migration
• Biodiversity preparatory work to implement the NPS-IB
• Highly productive land preparatory work to implement the NPS-HPL

Background

In August 2023 two new pieces of legislation were created, the Spatial Planning Act (SPA) and the Natural and Built Environment Act (NBEA). These two acts were part of a package of reforms that were intended to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA).

The three new acts were:

• Spatial Planning Act (SPA)
• Natural and Built Environment Act (NBEA)
• Managed Retreat and Climate Change Adaption Act (CAA)

Following the 2023 General election, the incoming Government promptly repealed the new Acts and reinstated the Resource Management Act (RMA). The Government has its own RM reform program that is divided into three phases:

Phase one was the repeal of the two acts introduced by the previous Government.

Phase two is aimed at improving the performance of the RMA by removing unnecessary regulations for primary industries and barriers to investment in development and infrastructure while maintaining environmental protections. Phase two includes:

• The introduction of the Fast-track Approvals Bill to create a one-stop shop for approvals, consents and permissions to speed up the delivery of regionally and nationally significant projects.
  
• Targeted amendments to the RMA covering the Resource Management (Extended Duration of Coastal Permits for Marine Farms) Amendment Bill, Resource Management (Freshwater and other Matters) Amendment Bill which includes changes to freshwater management, stock exclusion and winter grazing rules, marine farming consents, and Significant Natural Areas.
  
• Resource Management Act Amendment Bill (RMA Amendment Bill Two) is currently in development and is expected to be introduced before the end of 2024 and passed into law by mid-2025.
  
• A package of National Direction – including amendments to 14 current National Policy Statements (NPS) and National Environmental Standards (NES), as well as seven new national direction instruments. These will be consult on in early 2025 and they are expected to be passed into law in mid-2025.
  

Check back here for updates on progress.