The Government’s Proposed RMA Replacement Bill Is Fatally Flawed

The Government’s proposed RMA replacement bill is fatally flawed – needs to be immediately withdrawn and re-started from scratch, says Federated Farmers spokesperson for RMA reform Mark Hooper. He says the Environment Committee’s 1,377-page report on the Natural and Built Environment Bill or NBE is of real concern for farmers and raises serious red flags when it comes to cost, clarity, and complexity. Mark Hooper says instead of making improvements to the proposed legislation, it seems to have only made things worse. The Feds are also concerned that there’s not enough time for politicians, let alone the public, to read and properly understand the implications of the changes before the Bill becomes law next month. Federated Farmers has repeatedly raised concerns that the proposed Bill will lead to drawn-out resource consenting processes, expensive and time-consuming court cases, higher costs for farmers, and less local democracy. This Bill should be withdrawn immediately and replaced with a simple plain language law that reduces red tape, uncertainty, and costs.