The bill implementing the next phase of the government's
'red tape-busting' reforms of key legislation controlling
development and environmental protection was introduced into
Parliament on 26 November 2015. The Resource Legislation Amendment
Bill (Amendment Bill) picks up the thread of
previous rounds started some years ago, to reduce what it sees as
bureaucratic constraints on creating jobs, building housing and
good environmental management. It is promoted by the Minister for
the Environment as providing "greater national consistency,
more responsive planning, simplified consenting and better
alignment with other laws". There are some real procedural
changes, which will affect planning, consenting and land
development activities, but gone is the wholesale realignment of
the legislative purposes that the government previously indicated
was required.
