Environment Minister Amy Adams

Good morning. Thanks for the build-up Steven, no pressure. This is a bit like Cabinet speed dating I notice, so you've got quite a buffet of Ministers before you, and I have the in-enviable position of being the last up. I like to think it more of being the anchor leg of our relay team though. So look as Environment Minister, I probably understand more than most actually how important the management of our natural resources is to New Zealand's future. And certainly a large number of aspects of my work programme will be impacted by the Building Natural Resources document we are launching today, and think perhaps amongst those, top of the list would have to be resource management reform. So it's my strong view that New Zealand needs to have a resource management system that enables growth, that provides good environmental outcomes, and is capable of adapting to changing values, pressures, and technology. So the first stage of reform of the National-led government of our first term in government included actually about 150 amendments to simplify and streamline the RMA. We reduced costs, uncertainties, and delays. And already we are seeing the outcomes for the environment, supported business investment, and stronger economic growth are certainly being felt. From those reforms, we reduced, for example, late consents from 31% of consents in 2008 being late to just 5% in 2011, with the number of late consents reducing by about 10,000 a year. We created the Environmental Protection Authority which enables the efficient processing of major urban and infrastructure projects that are of national significance to New Zealand, and to our economic and environmental performance. Now this process has led to both the Waterview and Transmission Gully projects both being consented within nine months, which would have been absolutely impossible to comprehend previously. And of course we ended the supermarket wars which had seen the RMA become a tool for anti-competitive behaviour amongst some of our biggest supermarket chains. So today, we're kicking-off the next stage of our RMA reform. This afternoon in Parliament, the Resource Management Reform Bill will have its first reading. The Bill introduces a streamlined process for Auckland's first unitary plan, a six-month time limit for the council processing of medium-sized projects, and easier direct referral to the Environment Court for major regional projects. The Bill also includes stronger requirements for councils to base their planning decisions on robust and thorough cost-benefit analysis, including clearly assessing how decisions will affect local jobs and employment. We expect councils to show that they have understood and considered the impact on local employment and the economy when they make major decisions under the Act. Resource management decisions made at a local level have some of the most far-reaching effects on economic growth and jobs. And we think it is important that councils are presented with all the information they need to make the right decisions, and that the public are kept fully informed about both their choices and the reasons behind them. Further substantial reform of the RMA will continue during 2013, with details to be released early next year. But I can tell you that the 2013 reform is intending to address remaining investment and community uncertainty, to address weak planning outcomes, and unnecessary costs and delays. In particular, it will be taking immediate steps to address the supply of residential land in our housing markets that are under the most critical pressure. The work will also incorporate freshwater reform, building on the recommendations from the Land and Water Forum. And as Minister Carter has discussed this morning, we have now the three reports of the LAWF – the Land and Water Forum – which do give us an excellent foundation from which to progress the reform of our most important natural asset. For the first time we have a range of support from over 60 different stakeholders in what has to be the most divisive, litigious, and yet the most important area of natural resources we have in this country. We have an opportunity to implement a significant water reform strategy to maximise opportunities and address problems with the current system. So resource management reform and freshwater reform are a key part of our Government's Business Growth Agenda. New Zealand is incredibly blessed with natural resources as we have heard this morning. And our reform package is about ensuring we manage our resources more efficiently and more effectively to deliver both economic and environmental benefits for generations to come, and recognising the key role of the RMA as the framework under which planning decisions are made. This package is not about changing necessarily whether the decision on a consent should be a yes or a no. It's about recognising that we take far too long to get that decision. And I can tell you for example a hypothetical ten million dollar project, every day of delay has direct cost to the applicant of around $2200. So a 3-month delay on a $10 million project is about a $140,000 of additional cost and that's just what falls on the applicant. That cannot continue. It is not productive. It is holding New Zealand back. It's certainly our intention that the Government's reforms deliver a system that answers community planning needs, enables growth, and provides strong environmental outcomes quickly and cost effectively. Thank you very much. Can I hand you back to our MC extraordinaire, Mr Steven Joyce.