Public Meeting organised by the Green Party on the Resource Management Act
What will RMA changes mean for seabed mining?
That’s likely to be among the questions put to MP, Eugenie Sage, Green Party environment spokesperson, when she speaks at a ‘Stand up for the environment: Protect our law’ meeting tonight (Thursday 3rd October) at 7.30pm in the Bowling Club (corner of Wallis/James St).
“New Zealanders want to protect our environment. They don’t want weaker laws which reduce those protections and their chance to have a say,” Eugenie Sage said. Speaking yesterday on Raglan Community Radio’s ‘Morning Show’, she highlighted the effect removal of the ‘amenity’ clause could have for developments such as Rangitahi and windfarms.
Eugenie will be explaining the most serious of the proposed changes to the RMA. These are:
– A rewrite of the heart of the RMA – sections 6 and 7, including removing several environmental criteria, such as the need to maintain and enhance amenity values, and the quality of the environment, and deleting “matters of national importance”.
– Insertion of new economic criteria with these being given more weight than environmental considerations.
– Strengthening private property rights at the expense of environment and community.
– Increased powers for the Minister to intervene and amend and override Council plans.
– Making it harder for councils to use plan rules to control activities, such as intensive dairying and nutrient leaching.
Local speakers will raise the likely impact for Raglan and its surrounds; Angeline Greensill of Tainui Hapū and Malibu Hamilton of Whaingaroa Environmental Defence both have lengthy experience of many local planning issues.
The Government plans to introduce legislation later this year. Despite National’s coalition partners saying they don’t support the weakening of sections 6 and 7, the Minister is intent on pushing ahead. The meeting will be facilitated by Michelle Frank to give a chance for everyone to better understand the proposals.