Barry Soper: Senior Political Correspondent reviews the scrapping of RMA

The Resource Management Act is officially bound for the scrapheap.

The Government's replacing the hefty legislation with two new laws - one based around planning, and the other on the environment.

The new laws will cut consent and permit numbers by 46-percent, and speed up those still required.

Barry Soper told Ryan Bridge that he's 'overwhelmed' with the scrapping of the Resource Management Act, and says he agrees with Chris Bishop's claim that this is the largest economic reform in a generation. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Barry sober here.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
Hey, Barry, good afternoon.

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Right, we've only got our Rima announcement. Are you underwhelmed? Overwhelmed?
Feeling good?

Speaker 3 (00:06):
No, I'm overwhelmed. Actually I think you know this. Like
I said to you yesterday, I remember when the bill
was introduced initially by Jeffrey Palmer in nineteen eighty nine.
It was a mess really from the start, and it
governed everything in New Zealand, even down to the air
we breathed. And really something had to give and the
red tape was strangling the country when it was trying

(00:30):
to build and do whatever it wanted to do. Chris Bishop,
he's described the changes as the single largest economic reform
and a generation and I think he might be right there,
because many governments have tried to amend the Resource Management
Act and this one basically does away with it all
together and replaces it with what they call a Planning

(00:51):
Act and a Natural Environment Act. But the as we
heard yesterday from the Prime Minister, cutting consent and permit
numbers by forty six percent, which is extraordinary really, RIMA
refour minutes to Chris Bishop. He outlined how things are
about to change when he spoke at the beehive lockup
of journals and analysts this afternoon.

Speaker 4 (01:14):
Activities that have small impacts will no longer require a
consent at all, which means we can focus the system
on what matters most and only on what matters the most.
Takes on average around six to seven years to develop
an average city or district plan. We think we can
get the plan making process down to around two years.
Gone other days of every man and his dog getting
a say in what you do with your own property.

(01:36):
In short, we are fundamentally changing most of what has
failed in the RIMA.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
Here here to that absolutely good ridden snout rough start
to the final session of Haarlem. This is the protest.
Is someone's texting Barry saying this disruption in the gallery
at the house today, Why are we so wet? They
should have been arrested and charged. Brownly needs to toughen
up his speaker.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
Well, you know, it's really interesting that that text has
said that, because I was watching everything unfolding and a
fire alarm went off and I thought it was the
alarm at Parliament because I had my headphones on, but
in fact it was a fire alarm here. Yeah, so
I had to leave the building but look, it was
quite extraordinary really, the security guards they dragged pro Palestinian

(02:20):
protesters across some chairs at the back of Parliament. They
were about a dozen of them, but they did kick
up a lot of stink. They threw pamphlets down on
both sides of the House, National and Labor sides. There
was after it, a larger than usual presence of security
and police in the gallery, not surprisingly. But the thing

(02:42):
that amused me more than anything else was the speaker.
Jerry Brandy sat there and for over two minutes. This
went on for slightly bemused by it all. Just to
show you this is how it played out in Parliament
this afternoon. And have listened to the din.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
Conversation friends in the gullery.

Speaker 5 (03:26):
That was an impromptu performance, a little bit of poetry
and lots of performative art as well. I think we'll
now progress to questions for or all answers.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
See, I don't like it.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
I don't like it when Jerry does this, he sort
of tries to make light of things when actually it's
so out of control in there that you need to
be a bit of a dictator.

Speaker 3 (03:45):
Well, see what does that say to other protests? Let's
tune up and do this. Nothing's going to happen to it.
And the thing is, I was watching the MPs sitting
on the floor of the house. Now these people sounded
mad and you never know what they could have in
their hand.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
And I mean they do.

Speaker 3 (04:01):
Get a check by security on their way in, but
who knows. I mean they sounded just out of control,
which they were.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, Now Labour's trying to sow divisions. This is about
leadership and Bishop and he's what rating two percent.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
Well, he writes about the same as Chloe's Waarlbrick, So
it shows you what the chances are. But nevertheless, Luxeon
reminded Hipkins in the house that he was questioning and
did try and cause some division. But he was talking
about house prizes and he reminded house prices rose by

(04:38):
thirty percent a year during Labour's reign.

Speaker 6 (04:41):
They are more affordable than they have been under this
government in two years than they were under his government
in six years.

Speaker 7 (04:47):
Is he not calling out Chris Bishop for contradicting him
on falling house prices and not calling out Nikola Willis
for saying that she's with Chris Bishop on falling house
prices because She's worried that Nicola Willis's also to end
up with Chris Bishop when he tries to replace him
as Prime Minister.

Speaker 6 (05:06):
No, look, I just say I think the members should
worry less about the National Party and worry about his
mates and the Greens into party.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
Mary.

Speaker 6 (05:12):
Don't you think I think that's what you should be
worrying about.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
Sun I've never heard him use that expression.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
Do you know who used to use that?

Speaker 2 (05:21):
Was Key?

Speaker 3 (05:22):
Yeah, well yeah, and Winston of course always calls people
sunshine when he's getting really hosed off of.

Speaker 1 (05:29):
Them, Sunny Jim. It's kind of patronizing, isn't it. All right?
Very good to see you, as always, very soaper with politics.

Speaker 7 (05:36):
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