Auckland City Council
Media release

4 February 2009

Auckland City Council welcomes RMA reforms

Councillor Aaron Bhatnagar, chairperson of the City Development Committee endorsed the Resource Management Act (RMA) changes announced yesterday by Prime Minister John Key.

“We welcome the government’s proposals and in general we are very pleased with the package of reforms announced,” says Mr Bhatnagar.

“We support the simplification of the regulatory process for our ratepayers, to make it easier for them to improve their properties and help reduce their costs.

“The council will be reviewing the bill carefully during the consultation period and make our submission as part of the select committee process.

“We empathise with the delays that businesses often face with regulatory processes and trade competition, and the time delays involved in getting important policy changes into the district plan. We applaud the changes to the resource consent process and believe this will take our own recent improvements to our regulatory processes to greater heights,” says Mr Bhatnagar.

The council will be taking a close look at the suggestion to remove blanket tree protection rules. The existing process for applications is costly for both council and homeowners, and the council will recommend better solutions to ensure people care for and retain trees.

As these new rules do not come into place unless the law is passed, if people are considering improvements to their property, they should check with the council first to ensure they have the correct permits. The reforms are expected to take effect in September 2009.

ENDS

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