Resource Management Act (RMA) stories
Councils face tighter limits on rezoning fertile farmland for housing, as ministers say it is needed to safeguard New Zealand’s food supply.
Public scrutiny begins on a replacement regime for the RMA, with the first draft aiming to speed planning and ease housing constraints.
Critics warn the draft overhaul could leave consenting slower and housebuilding harder, despite ministers promising a leaner planning regime.
Budget 2021’s housing package was welcomed, but experts warned it lacks the radical steps needed to help first-home buyers and renters.
Home buyers could gain from easier grants, while investors face a tougher tax regime and rents may rise as a result.
Without a clear plan, New Zealand's resource management overhaul will miss the Government's wellbeing and net-zero goals, says Infrastructure New Zealand.
Listings fell to record lows as buyers pushed Auckland’s median house price to GBP £1 million and nationwide sales hit a 14-year October high.
Nationwide house prices climbed 1.3% in October as low rates and scarce listings kept demand ahead of supply.
New planning laws may still fail to fix housing shortages and infrastructure gaps unless councils and agencies get more capacity and funding.
Weak planning, funding and governance are leaving New Zealand unable to deliver the wider public outcomes it now says it wants.
Business leaders say the overhaul could speed up planning, cut costs and improve housing and infrastructure delivery, but local councils face uncertainty.
Transport industry groups say decades of stop-start planning could end if National’s $31 billion road and rail programme goes ahead.
The project will add 93 MW of capacity and offset 100,000 tonnes of CO2 a year as MainPower begins site works near Waipara.
Planners warn the rushed consents could sideline community input and environmental safeguards as recovery projects are sped through this month.
New rules will impose tougher farm controls and swimming standards, but scientists warn implementation will determine whether waterways actually improve.
Billions in COVID-19 spending could be used to unlock projects, create jobs and speed New Zealand’s economic recovery, Infrastructure NZ says.
New roads, rail, schools and hospitals should help address years of underinvestment, though critics question whether USD $12 billion is enough.
A new report has reinforced pressure on ministers to back council infrastructure spending, after all eight cities were classed as severely unaffordable.
Fresh funding and planning reforms could speed up roads, water and housing delivery as New Zealand seeks to ease infrastructure bottlenecks.
Contractors still need project-by-project details, with major transport work due to wind down within 18 months and risking industry capacity gaps.