Tuesday, 08 April 2025 11:15

About time!

Written by The Hound

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OPINION: Finally, the jackboot of State will be lifted from the throat of those trying to grow the economy.

Two new Acts - the Natural Environmental Act and the Planning Act - will replace the RMA by the end of 2025, with a bill introduced to Parliament in 2026 and passed before the next election.

According to RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Undersecretary Simon Court, the new system will be grounded in property rights and will shift the burden of proof to those who currently weaponise the RMA to block development.

Cue the wailing from Greenpeace, whose hissy fit nicely sums up the current problem - lack of respect for property rights: "The proposed reforms are based on the dangerous idea that if you own a piece of land, you should be able to do what you like with it."

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Anyone in the primary sector will know about the clowns covering the countryside in the red tape we all have to wade through.

Spare a thought then for media outfit Stuff who were threatened with fines up to $200,000 by a snivelling civil servant from the MoH for illustrating a quiz question with a photo of part of the cover of a 45-year-old copy Playboy.

As Stuff notes, “It wasn’t the Playboy cover which caused offence. No, it was the back page which… featured an advert for a cigarette brand”.

As Regulations Minister David Seymour notes, “The real scandal here is, well, no wonder we’ve got problems in healthcare when they’re doing the Stuff quiz during work time.”

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