Planning laws for reform

Press, 29 January 1988, Page 2

Planning laws for reform

The Government yesterday announced a radical overhaul of New Zealand’s planning laws.

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Palmer, unveiled the law reform programme in Christchurch to the international conference of chief executives in local government. A “motley collection” of laws would be replaced by a single resource use statute, he said. “This review will not be easy. It will be extremely difficult. But the benefits of an integrated approach as opposed to a piecemeal approach will be substantial.”

A Ministerial committee formed to examine the legislation will be chaired by Mr Palmer. Other members will include the Ministers of Finance, Maori Affairs, Trade and Industry, Local Government and Energy. The committee’s brief will be to review the Town and Country Planning Act and legislation governing water and soil, minerals and environmental assessment procedures. The management of natural resources was now governed by more than 20 statutes which

were conflicting, overlapping and confusing to users, Mr Palmer told conference delegates. “They do not provide for all relevant values, especially environmental values, to be taken into account. They are costly to administer. The piecemeal approach to resource use has led to legislation dealing in fragmented ways with water, land, air or fisheries. “The natural systems which comprise the environment cannot be separated in this way,” he said.

The new resource-use statute would integrate planning laws and procedures, making local government responsible for administering the law with a minimum amount of Government intervention.

Mr Palmer admitted that the committee would face difficult issues including the application of the Treaty of Waitangi, the preservation of finite resources and the conflict between national, regional, local and individual interests.