Nature missing in RMA reform

The Government has missed a crucial opportunity to redesign the resource management system with climate and nature at its heart.

“We need a planning and resource management system that will deliver more clean power; thriving natural habitats; liveable towns and cities connected by low carbon public transport; and warm, affordable homes for everyone,” says the Green Party’s environment spokesperson, Eugenie Sage.

“We can build a future that works for everyone, within the limits of our fragile planet. To do so we need effective law and a planning and resource management system that provides the tools we need to plan our way to a better future.

“Everyone agrees that the current resource management system, designed and tinkered with by successive governments has failed. Business as usual is simply not an option. However, what the Government has come up with as a solution also falls short of what is required.

“Instead of coming up with new laws that put nature and the climate at the heart of our planning and resource management system, the Government seems to have bought into the outdated idea that there is a trade-off between quality infrastructure and good environmental outcomes. This just isn’t true.

“Over the next 30 years we will need to build new warm, dry, energy efficient housing; more renewable energy capacity; and more carbon-zero transport options like rail. At the same time we need to protect and restore coastal and estuarine areas, remaining wetlands, native shrublands, forests and waterways.

“We also need to see a step change for urban trees to ensure our towns and cities are more resilient to warming temperatures, and pleasant places to live which benefit our mental and physical wellbeing.

“The Green Party will work alongside stakeholders and members of the public to strengthen the Government’s proposals to better protect the climate and nature, while building a future that works for people,” says Eugenie Sage.

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