RMA Reform Still on Track Despite Wellington Drama — Feds

For a moment, National's leadership drama threatened the passage of two new pieces of legislation earmarked to replace the RMA.

RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop was one of the senior ministers named by media as gunning for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's job.

However, the leadership drama ended when Luxon sacked Defence Minister Chris Penk and told journalists that he didn't believe Bishop and Education Minister Erica Stanford were involved in the attempted putsch in any way.

Federated Farmers strongly backs the RMA overhaul and replacing the old framework with the new Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill.

Feds RMA spokesman Mark Hooper told Dairy News that he was still confident RMA reforms remain on track.

Officials will be completing redrafting work on the NEB and Planning Bill following select committee reporting and final ministerial consultation to prepare bills for second reading.

This will continue according to a tight timetable regardless of any other political, says Hoopr.

He doesn't think that the coalition's ambition to finalise the bills in this term of Parliament will be impacted by the leadership drama.

"There seems to be strong alignment within the coalition parties to get the bills passed before the end of the current term," he says.

"The general sense is that not passing the bills leaves too much planning etc in limbo waiting for direction from the new legislation.

"Whilst all parties may not agree on all the details within the bills, there seems to be a strong sense of urgency to get the primary legislation across the line and maybe consider amendments in the next term.

"Simultaneously there is considerable work going into new National Policy Direction, the secondary regulation that will support the bills, and announcements on NPD are expected anytime soon."

Hooper says they met with Minister Bishop and Under Secretary Simon Court, ACT, recently and "they are very focused on finalising decisions on various sections so the bills can progress to the next stage".

"We have discussed with and written to the Minister our suggestions on some final drafting edits. Whether any of these are adopted remains to be seen, but either way, we have been given every indication that the process is on track, albeit a tight timeline."

According to Federated Farmers, the RMA is the single biggest handbrake on growing agricultural productivity and rural economies.

For farmers, expensive resource consents, unachievable freshwater targets, Te Mana o te Wai, and outstanding natural landscape overlays, these are all things that sit under the RMA legislation.

Federated Farmers says investment, farmer confidence and productivity have been strangled in red and green tap for far too long.