The NZILA RMA Working Group has been actively engaged behind the scenes monitoring  legislative changes as they are announced. The group is currently advancing the following key work streams:

Submission on the Fast Track Approvals Bill:  We have prepared and lodged a submission that raises concerns about the FTA and its potential impact on Aotearoa New Zealand landscapes. The submission builds on our previous submissions on the Natural and Built Environment Bill (last year), emphasising the definition of both landscape and environment being inclusive of people. We question how elected representatives will be able to make decisions on projects that potentially affect all New Zealanders, without having an understanding of what these effects on people might be. You can read the submission HERE.

Enhancing our relationship with Ministry for the Environment (MfE): We remain in contact with senior policy advisers at the Ministry for the Environment and are rounding out mechanisms for regular, meaningful and appropriate engagement. We have offered our collective profession’s expertise to MfE as a way of assisting with the development of legislation and policy.

Preparing Terms of Reference: We are working the NZILA Board to define the terms of reference for our working group. This will include details on how we might submit on various legislation or policy, how we engage with Government departments, and how we will work together across the profession, particularly with other important working groups.

Monitoring Future Legislation: We will continue to monitor legislation as it is progressed and take opportunities to engage with MfE and/or provide formal feedback where we are able.

Member Updates: We will endeavour to provide ongoing updates to members with details of submissions, through the LAA and NZILA websites. Our submissions to the Government are important as they reaffirm our values and principles as a profession. We are investigating ways to build relationships directly with Ministers, so that we can be in a position to help them understand our world view.

What Can You Do?

If you are interested in joining the RMA working group, please let us know. We welcome insight and thought as to how we might engage and respond to legislation as it develops.

You can also submit on legislation yourself, and we know that it is important for as many people as possible to engage in legislation changes. If you are interested in submitting, then we would encourage you to consider the following key points:

• The landscapes of Aotearoa New Zealand have significant value to us as people.
  Landscape is core to our identity, reflecting the connection between people and place.
  Definitions of landscape, and of environment, centre around the inclusion of people as a core part.
• Our landscapes play an important role in our economic, social and mental wellbeing, both as individuals and as a community.
• All landscapes are important, not just our National Parks, but also our coastal, rural and urban landscapes.
• People and communities must be given the opportunity to have their say on projects that affect the landscape around them, particularly those projects that will result in significant and/or permanent landscape change.
• It is important that elected representatives make decisions on the future of our landscapes and our environments with a full understanding of the effects on the people and communities that they represent.
• Decisions on landscape and environmental change should align with the concepts of Oranga o te Taiao, and in particularly the important partnerships between Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Pākehā.
• Engaging with people and communities often focusses the mind on methods to avoid effects, rather than defaulting to mitigation or remediation.

The closing date for submissions on the Fast Track Approvals Bill is 19th April 2024 and details can be found on the Parliament website. Making a submission is easy, just follow the prompts. Follow this link: https://bit.ly/43PhCnG

For any further information or discussion, please don’t hesitate to contact:

Shannon Bray, Chair NZILA RMA Working Group: shannon@wayfinder.nz