by Ben Hope
As a cabinet Minister for the Environment in the 1990s Simon Upton was deeply involved with amendments to the Resource Management Act. Now as Parliamentary commissioner for the Environment he is worried about the coalition government’s changes to the law
In a report Simon Upton says New Zealand has lost its environmental conscience and has warned government that its proposed changes give far too much power to ministers.
The two Bills he is questioning replace New Zealand’s primary environmental protection statute, the Resource Management Act.
“The legislation gives no particular priority to environmental outcomes,” he said. “The Bills give complete discretion to Ministers to strike whatever environmental or developmental balance they prefer. In short, Parliament can have no certainty about the outcomes that are to be achieved by these Bills.”
With broad and unchecked ministerial discretion, there is a greater risk that direction will flip-flop as political tides ebb and flow with changes in government.
Upton’s central concern is that the new laws remove the clear purpose and limits that have guided environmental decision-making for decades, instead leaving key choices to future governments through regulations.
The difference, he said, was that the proposed bills left the balance between development and environmental protection largely to future governments.
“What the bills say is that’s a matter for the executive. That’s a matter for the government,” he said. “So from government to government as they change, it’s like a Rubik’s cube. You produce different outcomes.”
Footnote: Simon Upton’s 7000-word note to MPs is summarised here:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/179138532558499/permalink/2531853400620322/
Simon Upton – far from happy with extreme ministerial power
George Orwell’s novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four ” published in 1949 was a look to the future. Well Orwell’s prediction is coming true with recent government power as an absolute, centralised force seeking total control over the people.
You can bet your last dollar that bullying politicians like Shane Jones and Chris Bishop want extreme ministerial power. Mind you Jacinda Ardern showed the same dictatorial ways. Simon Upton is right. Full marks to him. 11/10.
An obsession with power among politicians is driven by a mix of psychological desires for control and status, (control freaks) as well as protecting political survival. So in election year they are listening more than the previous two years.
Watch out when they put controversial bills on the back shelf. If elected they will ram the bills through.
Hurried law makes poor law.