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A Bill that will help deliver a system that answers communities’ planning needs, enables growth and provides strong environmental outcomes has passed its first reading in parliament today.

The Resource Management Reform Bill 2012, introduced by Environment Minister Amy Adams, is part of a resource management reform package that next year will see further reforms, including specific proposals for improving the management of freshwater.

The key features of the Bill are:

Mr Speaker, I move that the Resource Management Reform Bill 2012 be now read a first time.

I nominate the Local Government and Environment Select Committee to consider the Bill.

Resource management reform is a key part of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda. New Zealand needs a resource management system that enables growth, provides good environmental outcomes and is capable of adapting to changing values, pressures and technology.

Building Natural Resources highlights how recommendations from the Green Growth Advisory Group are being integrated into the Government’s wider growth agenda, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Environment Minister Amy Adams say.

“The challenge for New Zealand – and frankly all countries – is how we can make the most of all our opportunities to achieve strong economic growth that delivers jobs alongside policies that improve the environment,” Mr Joyce says.

Environment Minister Amy Adams will today kick-off the next stage of the Government’s plan to reform the Resource Management Act.

This afternoon, the Resource Management Amendment Bill 2012 will have its first reading in Parliament.

The Bill introduces a streamlined process for Auckland’s first unitary plan, a six-month time limit for processing consents for medium-sized projects and easier direct referral to the Environment Court for major regional projects.

A Government-accredited product stewardship scheme has diverted more than 230,000 litres of paint and 90,000kg of steel buckets from landfill in the last year, Environment Minister Amy Adams says.

Resene’s PaintWise recycling and education programme finds beneficial uses for waste products, including donating unused paint to community groups and recycling the steel paint buckets returned as part of the scheme.

Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley and Environment Minister Amy Adams have welcomed the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s interim report on her investigation into hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

The interim report finds that the environmental risks associated with fracking can be effectively managed, providing that the best operational practices are implemented and enforced through regulation.

Primary Industries Minister David Carter and Environment Minister Amy Adams welcomed the release today of the third and final report of the Land and Water Forum (LAWF).

“This report presented to the Government marks the culmination of three years’ hard work by LAWF and we thank the members for tackling the tough issues of New Zealand’s fresh water management,” say Mr Carter and Ms Adams.

Twelve regional environment centres are to receive more than $1.4 million from the Government to provide practical ways of caring for the environment, including courses on composting and growing vegetables, educating school children and community planting days.

Environment Minister Amy Adams says environment centres play an important role in promoting environmental action in communities.

Environment Minister Amy Adams has welcomed the effective start of new regulations that require for the first time significant water takes to be metered, as part of a wider programme to improve fresh water management.

From tomorrow, all significant water takes (more than 20 litres per second) need to be metered. Smaller water takes down to five litres per second will gradually be covered by the regulations so that by 2016, about 98 per cent of consented water will be measured.

More than 16,000 televisions have been dropped off for recycling in the first month of the Government’s TV Takeback programme, Environment Minister Amy Adams says.

With Hawke's Bay and the West Coast the first regions to make the switch to digital television, they are the first involved in the programme.

More than 15,000 televisions have been dropped off for recycling in Hawke’s Bay and 1200 on the West Coast.

The programme will be rolled out around the rest of New Zealand to coincide with the digital switch over in each region.

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced the Government will introduce a six-month time limit on the council processing of medium-sized consents to avoid unnecessary costs and long, drawn-out processes for all parties.

“The costs, uncertainty and delays of the current system are affecting New Zealand jobs, infrastructure and productivity,” Ms Adams says.

“I often hear from applicants that the issue is not so much what they can and can’t do, but rather the time and cost to get an answer.

A world-leading recycling facility opened today by Environment Minister Amy Adams will compost millions of disposable nappies each year.

The purpose-built plant in Upper Hutt will break down disposable nappies into a safe, odourless compost, instead of sending them to landfill.

"This is the sort of initiative that this Government wants to back. It is the first of its kind in the world to be composting nappies and is a great example of a New Zealand business taking the lead in waste minimisation," Ms Adams says.

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced a one-off process to improve the development of Auckland Council’s first Unitary Plan, while ensuring that Aucklanders still have comprehensive input into the plan.

The Unitary Plan will be the largest and most complex planning exercise ever undertaken in New Zealand, and the logistical challenges of dealing with the more than 10,000 expected submitters will be demanding, Ms Adams says.

Environment Minister Amy Adams today acknowledged the one year anniversary of the Rena grounding.

"I want to pay tribute to the hard work and collegiality of the local councils, iwi, businesses and the thousands of volunteers for the way in which they came together over the past 12 months to help minimise the impact of the grounding," Ms Adams says.

Environment Minister Amy Adams has today announced a national scheme to encourage the recycling of unwanted televisions and raise investment in New Zealand’s electronic recycling capacity.

A recycling facility that will process up to 80,000 televisions each year has been opened by Environment Minister Amy Adams.

The Auckland-based Abilities Group has used $110,000 from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund to buy equipment that will allow it to recycle televisions at its Glenfield-based plant. The initiative will divert up to 750 tonnes of waste from landfill each year.

Environment Minister Amy Adams says a floating wetland made from hundreds of thousands of recycled plastic bottles has been an effective initiative to help restore Lake Rotorua’s water quality.

Ms Adams visited the 4000-square metre floating wetland today as part of a visit to see the progress that has been made in the Rotorua Lakes Protection and Restoration Programme.

The floating wetland, which was launched in July last year, is part of the restoration programme to which the Government has contributed $72.1 million.

Water New Zealand conference
Rotorua
September 27

Good morning.

Thank you Margaret for your introduction, and thank you to Water New Zealand for the invitation to join you at your conference today.

The size of your membership and the attendance at this event puts some perspective around the critical importance of freshwater to our country, and the role your organisation plays.

Environment Minister Amy Adams has announced that more than $750,000 has been given to five environmental initiatives in the latest round of the Community Environment Fund.

“The Community Environment Fund encourages people to take environmental action in their communities. This funding will be used by community organisations to restore native forests, increase biodiversity, reduce pests and educate communities,” Ms Adams says.

Environment Minister Amy Adams has praised the success of global action to tackle the ozone hole, which scientists say has stopped increasing and is on its way to recovery.

Today is the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol, the global agreement to phase out the production and use of substances which have been depleting the ozone layer.

Commissioners will continue to govern Environment Canterbury after the 2013 local authority elections, Local Government Minister David Carter and Environment Minister Amy Adams announced today.

Commissioners were appointed in 2010 following a critical external review of Environment Canterbury’s performance. Legislation empowering the governance arrangements states that their term was to end at the local government elections in 2013.

A new glass-sorting facility opened by Environment Minister Amy Adams in Tauranga today will help to divert about 3000 tonnes of glass from going into landfill each year.

The facility at Te Maunga Resource Recovery Park received about $47,000 for the project from the Government’s waste disposal levy allocated to Tauranga City Council.

In addition to accepting glass bottles and jars, Te Maunga will also start accepting flat glass, including from windows and doors, which will be sorted and stored before it is then sent to other facilities to be recycled.

Environment Minister Amy Adams has welcomed the passing of a new law that for the first time will enable comprehensive environmental management of activities in New Zealand’s vast exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf.

“This new environmental legislation will allow us to carefully manage development of the resources in our oceans, and help us unlock the enormous economic potential that lies in our oceans in an environmentally-responsible way,” Ms Adams says.