'Phase 2' resource management reform: the select committee reports back

The Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill (Bill) is a key component of second phase of the Governments reforms of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).¹ The Environment Select Committee Report on the Bill was presented on 11 June 2025. The Bill is now expected to promptly become law in mid-2025.² This article summarises the key elements of the Bill as it stands post Select Committee.

Our article summarising the draft Bill as originally introduced is available here, by way of background on the Bill: Has Santa come early? A stocking full of RMA amendments introduced to Parliament. Big picture, the Bill seeks amend a range of existing RMA provisions across five themes: infrastructure and energy, housing growth, farming and the primary sector, natural hazards and emergencies, and system improvements, in order to align with the Government's priorities.

The Select Committee recommended the Bill be passed with a number of amendments, many of which arose from the 324 submissions received on the Bill.

MDRS 'opt out' removed – Auckland and Christchurch get bespoke arrangements

The most notable is a recommended change to remove the ability for territorial authorities to 'opt out' of the requirements of the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS). This was largely because all specified territorial authorities (except three) had already implemented the MDRS.

Auckland Council and Christchurch City Council have instead been given their own bespoke processes to allow them to 'opt out'.  This is set out in new Schedule 3C of the RMA:

• For Auckland: Auckland Council can now withdraw its IPI (Plan Change 78) that has not yet been the subject of decisions, and notify a plan change using the streamlined planning process by 10 October 2025 that gives effect to Policy 3 of the NPS-UD and would provide at least the same amount of housing capacity of Plan Change 78 (as notified would have provided if made operative. The plan change must also enable, within at least a walkable catchment of the Maungawhau (Mount Eden), Kingsland and Morningside Stations heights and densities with the greater of demand for housing and business use in those locations or the amount of housing and business use that is appropriate given the level of accessibility to commercial activity and commercial services in those locations, and in all cases buildings of at least 6 storeys in those locations. The new plan change would enable natural hazards issues to be addressed including where more restrictive plan provisions are introduced.
• For Christchurch: The Christchurch City Council will be required to apply to the Minister to withdraw any parts of its IPI (Plan Change 14) that had not been made operative by commencement of the Bill. However, the criteria for development capacity that the Minister would need to be satisfied of for withdrawal would be that there is sufficient housing capacity to accommodate 30 years of future housing demand plus a 20 percent contingency margin. If the Council is allowed by the Minister to withdraw the IPI then it will not need to undertake a subsequent plan change.

Key changes to the Bill

Other key amendments recommended by the Select Committee are:

• Obligation to hold a hearing remains intact: The Bill originally sought to remove the obligation to hold a hearing by replacing section 100 of the RMA to provide that a consent authority must not hold a hearing for a resource consent application if it determined that it had sufficient information to decide the application. The Select Committee has recommended the deletion of that provision in light of the significant opposition to it expressed in submissions.
• Discharge rules able to allow significant adverse effects over a 10 year period: The Bill originally proposed to change section 70 of the RMA to enable regional councils to include a rule in a regional plan that allows as a permitted activity a discharge into water that could result in significant adverse effects to aquatic life. The Select Committee has recommended adding a timeframe into the new provisions to require the council to be satisfied that its plan would contribute to a reduction in adverse effects within 10 years. This section will now apply as soon as the Bill commences and thus would apply to plans under appeal and subject to ongoing court proceedings.³
• Exemptions added to the natural hazards in land use provision: Proposed section 106A will allow a consent authority to refuse a land use consent or to attach conditions to the consent in certain circumstances related to natural hazards. The Select Committee proposes that this provision will now not apply to land use consents required in connection with infrastructure and primary production activities. Changes were also recommended to align the language of the proposed new section 106A concerning natural hazards with the existing section 106(1)(a) that applies to subdivisions. The need for there to be a 'a new or increased level of risk' from natural hazards was removed.
• Delisting historic heritage now with reference to specific criteria: Specific criteria have been recommended for council decisions concerning the delisting of heritage items using the streamlined planning process. These criteria include the physical condition and seismic risk of the building and the economic viability of any proposed use.⁴ (Additionally, while not part of the Select Committee process, the Government has also announced an amendment to the Bill to specifically delist the Gordon-Wilson flats in Wellington).
• Clarifications to designation provisions: Clarifications to the designation changes are recommended to ensure that ports can meet the definition of a 'network utility operator' and ensure that proposed changes to alternative assessments (that they be proportionate to the effects) also apply to local authorities when they are the requiring authority.
• Ministerial powers where national direction is not complied with: Changes were recommended to require an investigation to be carried out by the Minister before they can exercise the new powers in sections 25 and 25A to direct a local authority to comply with a national policy statement.
• Regulation-making power to help respond to and recover from emergency events: A number of changes were recommended to these powers which allow regulations to be made to change RMA process and timeframes to respond to a natural hazard event or other emergency and to enable recovery efforts in the affected area. The changes recommend extending the time which local authorities and iwi have to provide comments on the regulations (to 10 days), require those comments to be considered in making the regulations, and require the regulations to be reviewed annually.
• Fisheries issues: The Bill sought to clarify the relationship between the RMA and the Fisheries Act 1996 by introducing definitions and restrictions on rules that control fishing. The Select Committee has expressly recommended excluding aquaculture from these provisions so they now apply only to wild caught fish.⁵ There was no change recommended to controversial MPI sign-off requirement.
• Extended consent duration for infrastructure: Resource consents (such as those for long-lived infrastructure) eligible for a 35-year duration could be applied for immediately after the Bill commenced. Clarifications are recommended as to when this new duration would be available and the definition of 'long-lived infrastructure'. Applications that were yet to be determined or returned would also be eligible. They would need to have been lodged before commencement and accepted as complete under section 88 of the RMA.
• Compliance and enforcement changes: These are all recommended to proceed with some clarifications. These include introducing the ability to recover costs for compliance monitoring including for permitted activities, previous non-compliance being a relevant consideration under various provisions, making insurance against fines unlawful and the Environment Court having the power to revoke a resource consent for ongoing, significant, or repeated non-compliance.

Finally, the Government has also announced changes to be made at the Committee of Whole House stage to insert a new regulation making to allow the Government to modify or remove provisions in local council plans if they negatively impact economic growth, development capacity, or employment. These are changes that were not part of the Select Committee phase.

We will be keeping a close eye on the Bill as it proceeds through the second reading process and we will provide an update on any further key changes.

¹ Along with the Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2024.
² Saying yes to more housing | Beehive.govt.nz.
³ See clause 49A of Schedule 2.
⁴ See changes to Part 5 of Schedule one, sections 78 and 80C.
⁵ See clause 5, new section 2B.