The call made this week by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment for further scrutiny of the RMA replacement laws deserves to be taken seriously says Tuia Pito Ora New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA).

“The extent of Commissioner Simon Upton’s wide-ranging concerns – as circulated to all Members of Parliament in a 14-page document this week – are too far-reaching and fundamental for further scrutiny not to be given to both bills before and during their second reading,” says Ralph Johns, NZILA President.

“The question now becomes whether the remaining sitting days at Parliament (less than 20) will allow sufficient time for that scrutiny, which is also dependent on a public release of an illustrative draft of the new National Policy Direction as promised on Monday.

“The Minister responsible for RMA Reforms, Chris Bishop, has assured all New Zealanders that more detail on the reforms is on its way. Until that detail is released, it remains difficult for stakeholders and communities to fully understand how the reforms will operate in practice”.

Peter Kensington, of NZILA’s Environmental Legislation Working Group, commended the Commissioner for going into bat on the importance of ensuring this once-in-a-generation legislation unites New Zealanders rather than dividing them.

“The Commissioner has highlighted the importance of having regard to the role that landscape factors play in achieving a balance between economy and environment and as a guardrail. He has been a true champion for many of the changes we have advocated for that are vital to delivering the quality landscape-based outcomes that New Zealanders, and visitors to our country, have come to expect. We thank him for that”.

Ralph Johns: “One of the lessons our profession has taken from the process of these reforms is a challenge to work even harder to make the impacts of development on people’s experience of healthy and well-functioning spaces and places better understood and as positive as possible. This includes mindfulness of work that is done mitigating hazard risks and in the provision of green infrastructure. We should not, and will not, lose the aspiration of protecting the long-term quality of our built, productive and natural environments – be that at a broad regional or catchment or city scale, or at a detailed neighbourhood or site scale”.