The Resource Management Act (RMA) passed in 1991 in New Zealand is a significant, and at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water. New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment describes the RMA as New Zealand's principal legislation for environmental management.
The RMA and the decisions made under it by district and regional councils and in courts affect both individuals and businesses in large numbers, and often in very tangible ways. The Act has variously been attacked for being ineffective in managing adverse environmental effects, or overly time-consuming and expensive and concerned with bureaucratic restrictions on legitimate economic activities.
The Sixth Labour Government planned to replace the RMA with two separate acts: the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 (NBA), and the Spatial Planning Act 2023 (SPA); and planned to add the Climate Change Adaptation Bill (CAA). Following the 2023 New Zealand general election, the National-led coalition government repealed Labour's NBA and SPA legislation. It also promised to reform the RMA and eventually replace it with new resource management laws. In September 2026, Parliament passed two laws replacing the Resource Management Act: the Planning Act 2026 and the Natural Environment Act 2026.
Significance The adoption of the RMA was significant for three reasons. Firstly, the RMA established one integrated framework that replaced the many previous resource-use regimes, which had been fragmented between agencies and sectors, such as land use, forestry, pollution, traffic, zoning, water and air.Fisher, D. E. (1991), 'The resource management legislation of 1991: A judicial analysis of its objectives', in Resource Management, Brooker and Friend Ltd, Wellington, Vol. 1A, Intro 1–30. p 2, 2nd paragraph.
Secondly, the RMA was the first statutory planning regime to incorporate the principle of sustainability.Smith, G. (1997). 'The Resource Management Act 1991 – "A biophysical bottom line" vs "a more liberal regime"; a dichotomy?' Canterbury Law Review 6: 499–538, p 501.
Thirdly, the RMA incorporated 'sustainable management', as an explicitly stated purpose placed at the heart of the regulatory frameworkHarris, B. V. (1993) 'Sustainable management as an express purpose of environmental legislation: the New Zealand attempt' – 'Otago Law Review' 8: 51–76. and this purpose is to direct all other policies, standards, plans and decision-making under the RMA.Fisher, D. E. (1991), 'The resource management legislation of 1991: A judicial analysis of its objectives', p 11, 2nd paragraph. Having the purpose of the RMA at the apex of an unambiguous legislative hierarchy was a unique concept worldwide at the time of the law's inception.Fisher, D. E. (1991), 'The resource management legislation of 1991: A judicial analysis of its objectives', p 11, first paragraph.
Related legislations
The RMA replaced a large number of acts, regulations and orders. A total of 59 Acts and amended Acts were repealed (see RMA Sixth Schedule), and nineteen regulations and orders were revoked (Seventh Schedule). The notable acts repealed were the Water and Soil Conservation Act 1967 and the Town and Country Planning Act 1977.Frieder, J. (1997) 'Approaching Sustainability: Integrated Environmental Management and New Zealand's Resource Management Act'. Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowship in Public Policy, 1997. p 12. The mining and minerals regime was separated from the Resource Management Bill at the third reading stage and was enacted as the Crown Minerals Act 1991.
However, three of these statutes, provided important elements of the RMA. The Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941 provided the precedent for catchment-based entities and catchment boards became part of the new regional councils. The Town and Country Planning Act 1977 provided the consenting and planning procedures.Birdsong, B. (1998) Adjudicating Sustainability: The Environment Court and New Zealand's Resource Management Act, Prepared by Bret Birdsong October 1998 copyright Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowship in Public Policy, pages 4 & 5. The Water and Soil Conservation Act 1967 provided the consenting regime and case law for water.Milne, P. (2005) Allocaton of Public Resources under the RMA: Implications of the Aoraki Water Trust v Meridian. 2005 Salmon lecture, Philip Milne, 1 July 2005, an address given at the July 2005 Salmon Lecture held in Auckland by the Auckland Branch of the Resource Management Law Association, page 154
Beginnings
Following the National Party's antipathy to environmental issues in the 1980s, as expressed in the Think Big economic development projects and the National Development Act, the New Zealand Labour Party went into the 1984 election campaign with a platform of reforming planning and local government institutions and adopting better environmental policies.Wheen, N. (2002) A history of New Zealand environmental law. pp 261–274, In 'Environmental histories of New Zealand', edited by Pawson, E. and Brooking, T. Oxford University Press, Melbourne, page 269. The reform policy involved creating an integrated resource decision-making system to replace the existing sectoral based system. The Labour Party environment policy, such as this quote from Part I, paragraph 3, owed much to the Brundtland Commission's concept of sustainable development;Fisher, D. E. (1991), 'The resource management legislation of 1991: A judicial analysis of its objectives', p 2, fifth paragraph.to ensure the management of the human use of the biosphere to yield the greatest sustainable benefits to present generations while maintaining the potential to meet the goods and aspirations of future generations
Resource Management Law Reform
In the 1987 election the fourth Labour Government won a second term in office and deputy prime minister Geoffrey Palmer became the Minister for the Environment. Palmer initiated a comprehensive reform project for New Zealand's environmental and planning laws. This was the Resource Management Law Reform or RMLR. Palmer's objectives explicitly included giving effect to the Treaty of Waitangi, cost-effective use of resources, the World Conservation Strategy, intergenerational equity, and intrinsic values of ecosystems. Palmer chaired a Cabinet committee supervising a core group of four people supported by the Ministry for the Environment. The core group developed policy through a series of 32 working papers and through extensive public consultation. In December 1988, the reform proposals were published. In December 1989, Palmer introduced the 314-page Resource Management Bill to the Parliament of New Zealand. The Select Committee reported back to the House on 14 August,1990, but the Committee of the Whole House stage was not completedPalmer, G. (2013). Reform: a Memoir. Victoria University Press (online ed.), p. 759. before the general election of 1990, which Labour lost. However, the new National Minister for the Environment, Simon Upton, continued the law reform process leading to the enactment of the RMA.Palmer, G., (1991). 'Sustainability – New Zealand's resource management legislation.' Resources: the Newsletter of the Canadian Institute of Resources Law No 34: 6 pp 3–10.
Final drafting of the RMA
The new Minister, Simon Upton, noted the divergent views of submitters on the proposed purpose and principles of the Bill. A Cabinet paper of 10 March 1989 argued that the overall objectives and the broad philosophy of the Bill should be stated in a purpose section and clarified in a section on fundamental principles. After the 1990 election, Simon Upton appointed a Review Group to assess the purpose and principle clauses. The group consisted of: Tony Randerson, a lawyer, as chair; Prue Crosson (now Prue Kapua), a lawyer; environmentalist Guy Salmon; planner Ken Tremaine; and Brent Wheeler, an economist.The Beginnings of the Resource Management Act , Hon Justice A P Randerson, 'Beyond the RMA', an address given to the Resource Management Law Association (Auckland Branch) at a seminar held on 28 August 2001 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Enactment of the RMA.
The Review Group considered that the clauses had become a conflicting 'shopping list' of matters advanced by interest groups, with no clear priority. That would result in the 'trading off' or balancing of socio-economic and biophysical aspects. They rejected such a balancing approach in favour of use within biophysical constraints. They considered that the Bill should not have a purpose of sustainable development with a focus on social justice and wealth redistribution. They concluded that purpose of the Bill should be 'sustainable management' and that the critical aspect of that purpose should be intergenerational equity, that is, safeguarding natural resource options for future generations. A second purpose of avoiding, remedying or mitigating adverse effects of activities was added. The purpose and principles sections were consequently rewritten.
Finally, with the approval of Cabinet, Simon Upton added the third 'sustainable management' purpose of 'safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil and ecosystems'.Upton, S., (1995) 'Purpose and Principle in the Resource Management Act' Waikato Law Review 1995 Vol 3, pp 17–55. Also available as 'The Stace Hammond Grace Lecture: Purpose and Principle in the Resource Management Act'
Simon Upton stated in his third reading speech to Parliament that the purpose of the RMA was not concerned with planning and controlling economic activity, nor about trade-offs, but about sustaining, safeguarding, avoiding, remedying, and mitigating the adverse effects of the use of natural resources. The Bill provides us with a framework to establish objectives with a biophysical bottom line that must not be compromised. Provided that those objectives are met, what people get up to is their affair. As such, the Bill provides a more liberal regime for developers. On the other hand, activities will have to be compatible with hard environmental standards and society will set those standards. Clause 4 sets out the biophysical bottom line. Clauses 5 and 6 set out further specific matters that expand on the issues. The Bill has a clear and rigorous procedure for the setting of environmental standards – and the debate will be concentrating on just where we set those standards.(July 1991) 51b Hansard, Resource Management Bill Third Reading, 3018–3020.
Part 2 Purpose and Principles
The result of Upton's input was that RMA was enacted with a Part 2 consisting of three 'principles' (sections 6,7 & 8) in an unambiguous hierarchy below the overarching purpose of 'sustainable management', set out in section 5.Fisher, D. E. (1991), 'The resource management legislation of 1991: A judicial analysis of its objectives', p 8-10. Under that section, the RMA has one specifically defined purpose; to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources.Resource Management Act, Section 5(1) – Parliament of New Zealand, 1991
Definition of sustainable management
The RMA, in Section 5, describes "sustainable management" as managing the use, development and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural well-being and for their health and safety while-
(a) Sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources (excluding minerals) to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; and
(b) Safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil, and ecosystem; and
(c) Avoiding, remedying or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment.
Principles
Section 6 is a list of matters of national importance that shall be 'recognised and provided for' in achieving the purpose of the RMA;