Submitted to the Environment Select Committee on Friday, 13th of February.
350 Aotearoa opposes these changes, and the unnecessary 2023 repeal of the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 and the Spatial Planning Bill Act 2022. The politics that has been played with this proposed Bill—and the 2023 repeal—is symptomatic of the worst of Parliament; petty politics that undermines the confidence and protections that New Zealanders deserve to have regarding resource management protections.
The proposed legislation would represent a fundamental shift away from genuine environmental protection towards a framework that privileges the interests of a minority of developers over the health of ecosystems and communities. The Bill proposes rules that are stacked against nature like a house of cards built on sand—fragile, unbalanced, and destined to collapse under the weight of short-term profit.
These Bills replace Aotearoa’s primary environmental protection legislative scheme with a system designed to permit more harm to the climate and Te Taiao. Environmental law should protect and restore ecosystems, uphold the right to clean water and a liveable climate, and respect real biophysical limits—not prioritise property rights, economic growth, and development at nature’s expense.
350 Aotearoa opposes the Bill’s passing. If the Bill does pass, we suggest that amending several provisions is a priority. Specifically:
Te Tiriti o Waitangi and public participation must be central to environmental decision-making. The Bill currently has no overarching Treaty clause—unlike previous resource legislation—and there is fewer and narrowed consultation required with hapū and iwi. 350 Aotearoa strongly opposes the weakening of Treaty provisions, the reduction of iwi and hapū involvement, and restrictions on public participation such as higher notification thresholds and excluding people based on where they live.
350 Aotearoa also opposes the emphasis on Treaty Settlements—not Te Tiriti itself—framing Te Tiriti as a historical document, and undermining the ongoing obligations Te Tiriti places on the current government. As Matua Moana Jackson said: ‘Treaties are meant to be honoured—not settled.’ In practice, 350 Aotearoa recommends Te Tiriti O Waitangi be a mandatory consideration in resource management decisions. We also recommend an overarching Tiriti clause reference the Māori text of Te Tiriti—not ‘the principles’ or ‘the treaty’.
We strongly oppose the compensation regimes in both Bills (NEB clauses 111 and 122; Planning Bill clauses 92 and 105). Requiring the public to compensate companies for mitigating environmental damage is unjust and dangerous, and risks entrenching pollution as an acceptable cost of doing business. These provisions should be removed entirely.
Environmental limits must be clear, enforceable, and based on science. 350 Aotearoa strongly opposes provisions that treat limits as flexible or allow them to be weakened for economic reasons. This includes feasibility tests (clauses 60–65 of the NEB), infrastructure carve-outs (clause 86 of NEB), or the ability for councils to set lower limits. The role of local councils is crucial, and they should instead have strong powers to set hard caps and to amend or revoke existing consents where harm is occurring.
350 Aotearoa supports enshrining clear safeguards for our climate and environment, instead of the approach of this Bill; which risks turning environmental law into an uphill battle where every tree and stream struggles to fight for their survival against a resource management approach that would favour powerful developers and narrow commercial gains. At a time when increasingly frequent storms are pummeling our communities, this Bill feels incredibly out of touch. This proposed legislation feels like a tide pulling back just before a climate-fuelled storm. The promise of protection recedes, exposing the roots of Te Taiao to the raw forces of deregulation.
There’s a better way—a resource management system that upholds the ecological limits that sustain life here in Aotearoa. For the sake of the climate we all rely on, clean awa, and upholding the voices of Mana Whenua and the communities who care for the whenua; 350 Aotearoa urges the committee to rethink these proposals and ensure that environmental law protects Te Taiao, instead of bending it to the will of industry.