Submission on the Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill

^{Redfin bully, Gobiomorphus huttoni. Photo: Stella McQueen, Wikimedia Commons}

The Commissioner has submitted on the Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill.

The bill proposes to change the way Ministers provide national direction under the Resource Management Act. It also seeks to make specific changes to two pieces of existing national direction – the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, and related regulations.

The Commissioner is concerned that proposed changes to the process for making national direction will reduce its robustness and transparency. He has recommended some provisions that are set to be repealed, be retained. Modifications to other proposals are also suggested.

Where changes to, or removal of, regulations that protect freshwater and indigenous biodiversity are proposed, the Commissioner highlights regulatory gaps and the potential for inconsistency that will be created in the absence of effective alternatives.