Since its enactment in
1991, the Resource Management Act (RMA)
has generated both praise and criticism. The major criticism is in relation to
the costs the Act poses to industry and the time it takes to work through the
process. In response to such criticisms the Minister for the Environment has
initiated a review of the implementation of the RMA.
The
Minister's proposals for reform have not yet been released and the discussion
that follows is based upon the report by the Minister's Review Group which was
released in September.