It’s a busy time and our whiskers are twitching about lots of things we’re seeing. One of a few hot topics this week – and add any good reads in the comments!

There’s a general vibe that the RM reforms released a couple of days ago are… marginal improvements on what’s in the current RMA. And it apparently misses a few key tricks like making climate change a fulcrum of decision-making. Evolution, rather than revolution? Or is that just what’s needed?

We’d love to know more…

We’re hanging out for some comment from the granddaddy of the RMA, former National government Environment Minister and current (reappointed) Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton – see his fascinating lecture on RM reform (2020) here.

But for all the scepticism, the proposed new legislation does have some real bangers, such as this direct hit at the bad spirits of NIMBYism:

There’s a good summary on Greater Auckland who admit “we’ve not had a lot of good stuff to say about planners…” but close with this:

But the stronger national direction, the greater role of long-term spatial planning and the shift towards an outcomes focus makes me hopeful that this is an important step in the right direction and part of an ongoing shift towards getting planning to focus on the big picture much more – how our cities should grow and where the streets should go – and to stop sweating the minor details around whether a dairy should be allowed on a street corner or whether a house is 20 centimetres too close to another one.

There’s some helpful context on the leadup to all this here [PDF], like p5 and 9 – a wishlist and a great diagram of how all the reforms go together!

Have you read something insightful about the RM reforms? Link us in the comments…

Banner image: Allan Harris (Flickr)

Tags: legislation, planning, resource management act, rules, urban development, zoning