Parliament Passes Two Bills to Replace the RMA After 35 Years

Parliament has passed the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill through third reading, replacing the Resource Management Act after 35 years. RNZ

Third reading is the final vote in Parliament before a Bill becomes law.

The Government confirmed the result in an announcement titled "RMA era ends as new system passes Parliament". It said the Bills had completed their third reading and called the change a fundamentally different way of planning for New Zealand's future. Beehive

The Government called the reforms the most significant overhaul of the planning system in more than three decades. It said the new system would make building infrastructure easier, faster and more affordable. Think of it as a new rulebook for what can be built where, and how environmental limits are set.

RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop told the House the RMA had stifled economic growth. He said scrapping it restores freedom for New Zealanders to shape their futures by using their property as they choose.

Bishop said enjoyment and use of people's own land was at the heart of the reforms. He called it "the Kiwi dream" and accused the Opposition of painting property rights as "some evil, right wing plan".

Labour's Rachael Brooking said the reforms include a regulatory relief scheme, which means councils would compensate landowners if new planning rules affect them. She said councils would either face chaos and great expense for ratepayers, or give up on environmental protections to avoid paying.

Brooking said the reform will lead to a "big, muddy mess" and will not improve efficiencies or the cost burden on the public. She said a Labour government would not flip-flop on the reform but would make amendments.

Green Party environment spokesperson Lan Pham said the laws would allow untold harm to human health and the environment. She said the Government had ignored official advice, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and 75 percent of submitters.

ACT claimed victory on the reform and said National had in the past been against RMA reform. Its infrastructure spokesperson Simon Court said the old system "let every Tom, Dick and Harry say no" to building projects.

Court said the new system starts from the position that it is your property and you have the freedom to use it if you are not harming anyone else.

The Bills were introduced by Bishop and Under-Secretary for RMA Reform Simon Court in December 2025. New Zealanders were invited to have their say through the select committee process, where a small group of MPs hears submissions, as part of the Government's stated aim to pass the replacement laws in 2026.

The Environment Committee reported the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill back to the House in July. Parliament

Looking at what happens next, the contest shifts from whether to replace the RMA to how the new Acts work in practice. Councils will test the scope of the compensation rules and the fiscal risk Brooking identified. Consent authorities and infrastructure providers will test whether the property-rights starting point shortens timeframes. Environmental litigants will test where the bottom lines sit under the Natural Environment Bill.

The broader context here is durability. Both major blocs have now legislated to replace the RMA. Labour is signalling amendment rather than repeal. That narrows the range of future change to settings within the new system, not its existence.