- Hon Chris Bishop
- Hon Tama Potaka
The Government is taking action to address the country's housing crisis through the biggest package of proposed changes to national direction in New Zealand's history, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka say.
National direction refers to rules and policies sitting under the Resource Management Act (RMA) that inform how councils develop and implement local plans and rules.
The Government is today releasing three discussion documents proposing amendments to 12 different instruments and the introduction of four new instruments, centred on three packages: infrastructure and development, the primary sector and freshwater.
"The RMA is broken, and it's a big part of the reason for many of New Zealand's biggest problems with infrastructure, housing and energy," Mr Bishop says.
"Addressing this is critical to boosting economic growth, improving living standards and meeting future challenges posed by natural hazards and climate change.
"We've already repealed Labour's botched RMA reforms and are making a series of quick and targeted amendments to unlock land for housing, build infrastructure, and allow communities to share the benefits of growth. We've also passed the Fast-track Approvals Act to make it much easier to deliver projects with regional or nationally significant benefits - and the first projects including Delmore (1,250 residential dwellings in Auckland) are already going through the Fast-track process.
"Next year we'll replace the RMA with new legislation premised on property rights. Our new system will provide a framework that makes it easier to plan and deliver infrastructure and energy projects, as well as protecting the environment.
"In the meantime we're making targeted, quick changes through our second RMA amendment Bill which is expected back from the Environment Committee next month, and changes to national direction.
"Addressing housing affordability and supply is a key focus for the Government. We want to make it easier for families to build a granny flat of up to 70 square metres on an existing property through proposed new National Environmental Standards for Granny Flats. This NES will require all councils to permit a granny flat on sites in rural, residential, mixed use, and Māori purpose zones without the need to gain a resource consent subject to certain conditions. It will sit alongside our parallel work to amend the Building Act to remove the need for a building consent for those same granny flats."
"Existing resource management rules are a barrier for Māori to build papakāinga housing on ancestral land. Our proposed new National Environmental Standard for Papakāinga would allow papakāinga on some rural land, residential zones, and Māori purpose zones, subject to certain conditions. It would enable Māori to develop papakāinga housing more efficiently and quickly," Mr Potaka says.
"We are committed to providing better housing options for whānau, and one of the ways we will achieve this is by making it easier for Māori landowners to unlock opportunities for their whenua.
"Currently, inconsistent rules for building papakāinga in council district and unitary plans across the country are preventing Māori landowners from using their land to house their whānau, exercise autonomy over their whenua, and build wealth.
"We're proposing to introduce a consistent national framework - called National Environmental Standards - that will reduce consenting inconsistencies, remove planning barriers, and make consenting less costly and complex.
"If accepted, consenting standards would become uniform across the country, regardless of which district plan the land falls under, and small-scale - up to 10 homes - papakāinga would no longer require resource consent.
"These changes, developed in consultation with papakāinga and Māori planning experts, will reduce bureaucracy and make it easier for Māori landowners to develop papakāinga so more whānau are able to live in warm, dry, healthy, affordable housing.
"Papakāinga provide multiple benefits to whānau, hapū and Iwi. As well as economic, social, and wellbeing benefits, papakāinga provide holistic and cultural benefits because our connection to the whenua is such a key part of being Māori.
"This proposal would also complement our granny flats policy. Together the two proposals provide options for Māori to build on their existing assets. While the papakāinga development provides more scope for multiple homes on communally owned Māori land, the granny flats policy provides an option for homeowners to build one additional dwelling on their residential property without consent building or resource consent."
Consultation on these proposals will remain open until 27 July 2025. The Government intends to have 16 new or updated national direction instruments in place by the end of this year.
Note's to editor:
Infrastructure and development is one of three national direction packages released today as part of the Government's wider reform of the resource management system. The other two packages cover changes for the primary sector and freshwater management.
