No Progress on Resource Management Act Changes

UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne says he has had no substantive discussions with the Government since June regarding changes to the Resource Management Act.

“At that time, I advised the Government that it should issue an exposure draft of its proposed changes, so that their full detail and implications could be properly assessed.

“The Prime Minister subsequently told the National Business Review on 26 June that it was likely an exposure draft would be issued, but I have heard nothing more from the Government since then, and no exposure draft has yet appeared,” he says.

Mr Dunne says comments yesterday from the Environment Minister that “he's still talking to the Government's support parties” and is hopeful “we'll get the Bill before Parliament this year” came as a complete surprise to him, as did the Prime Minister’s confidence the Government had the numbers to introduce a Bill.

“As far as I am concerned, nothing has changed – my position remains as set out consistently since September 2013, that I do not support any changes to the principles of the RMA, a point the Government conceded it lacked the numbers on after the Northland by-election, and that I was not averse to reasonable process changes, but that I needed to see an exposure draft of what was being contemplated.

“I had a discussion with the Prime Minister in mid-June, but it is probably about five months since my last encounter with the Environment Minister on this issue.”

“Yesterday’s comments therefore seem more about faith and hope than anything else,” he says.

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