Auckland Council's Policy, Planning and Development Committee has unanimously backed submissions on two new bills set to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA).
While broadly supportive of the government’s goal of a more efficient system, a clear message from the mayor and councillors on Tuesday was that local voices must have a stronger place in decision making.
Councillor Richard Hills, Chair of Auckland Council’s Policy, Planning and Development Committee, says the council’s submission was designed to get the best outcomes for Aucklanders.
"The RMA sets out how land and natural resources can be used in Aotearoa New Zealand in a way that is sustainable and protects the environment. As the government sets to overhaul the current system, Auckland Council’s submission aims to get the best outcome for our communities, our planning system and our environment.”
Central government proposes to replace the Resource Management Act by bringing the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill into law in mid-2026. Submissions on the proposal have been open for six weeks and close on 13 February 2026.
What’s in Auckland Council’s submission?
Local voices should be kept strong
Currently, Auckland’s communities have regular opportunities to influence planning and environment decisions within the region. The bills would reduce this by shifting the council's role to carrying out national policies, which would be set by central government and near identical across the country. It would limit the council's ability to create local policies tailored to local environments or residents' needs.
In some cases, national rules make sense, but they cannot always respond to what residents value locally or an areas’ unique circumstances. For example, Auckland’s city centre, rural land and islands need planning rules tailored to their distinct characteristics. For this reason, Auckland Council opposes a move away from local decision making and supports giving residents a voice in planning decisions. This local approach is how the council developed the Auckland Unitary Plan, which was widely regarded as a gamechanger for Auckland.
Māori interests must be better protected
Neither bill requires Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi principles to be enforced. This weakens long-standing protections of Māori values, rights and interests, and the bills reduce recognition of broader Māori values, including kaitiakitanga (stewardship) and ancestral relationships between Māori and their land, water, sites and other taonga.
This conflicts with Auckland Council’s ongoing commitment to work in partnership with Māori in a way that respects and recognises te Tiriti.
Streamlining plans makes sense
The council supports the proposal to combine a regional spatial plan, natural environment plan and land use plan into one. The Auckland Unitary Plan already combines different plans required under the RMA. It has led to more new homes being built than would otherwise be the case, and more housing choices in many locations people want to live, while keeping environmental protections strong.
Timing for releasing national directions must be considered, so they are all available to be incorporated into the new combined plan that is required by the bills.
Notable trees and biodiversity should not be left vulnerable
The bar for considering historic heritage and notable trees will be lifted to only include ‘significant’ heritage. In our submission, the council notes that protection of notable trees is not included. Similarly, there is insufficient importance for an increased focus on environmental protection and biodiversity outcomes in the draft bill.
Our submission also acknowledges the importance of addressing climate change including the role notable trees play in mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Protecting what we value could become financially unsustainable
The Planning Bill requires councils to protect areas of high natural character, outstanding natural features and landscape, significant historic heritage and sites of significance to Māori. At the same time, it requires councils to compensate landowners if these protections affect their land.
The Natural Environment Bill also requires councils to compensate landowners where significant natural areas, sites of significance to Māori, and/or terrestrial indigenous biodiversity significantly impact the use of land.
Currently, grants and reduced council fees help landowners who have some of these protections on their land. Extra compensation costs could limit the council's ability to protect the things we deem important and the funding to pay for compensation would need to be found elsewhere.
Read Auckland Council’s submission on the Planning and Natural Environment bills.