Natural and Built Environment Bill and the Spatial Planning Bill submission

Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures (KT) and Ngā Ara Whetū: Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society (NAW) have jointly made a submission on the Natural and Built Environment Bill and the Spatial Planning Bill.

On Tuesday 15 November, the Government introduced the Natural and Built Environments Bill (the NBE Bill) and the Spatial Planning Bill (the SP Bill). These Bills underpin an overhaul of the resource management system and will be followed by the Climate Adaptation Bill in 2023. The resource management reform is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that will set legislations and strategies for the resource management system of Aotearoa New Zealand and establish processes necessary to implement the strategies. It will play a vital role in supporting the wellbeing of the natural environment and present and future generations for the coming decades.

Koi Tū is focusing on this issue because we approach complex, long-term issues from a broad transdisciplinary perspective, emphasising co-determining and co-framing the questions, and co-designing the solutions. We have developed innovative processes for joining expertise and public values in deliberation on some of our most complex societal challenges. The gathering and synthesis of evidence-informed perspectives to make this submission is one example.

In collaboration with Ngā Ara Whetū: Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society, Koi Tū hosted a multi-stakeholder workshop in January 2023 to harness the collective expertise and wisdom of a diverse group of academics, business, and community leaders from sectors that are particularly interested in resource management reform.

We also made an oral submission to the Environment Committee on 6 March 2023 which focused on three areas:

• Use of best information, expertise, and monitoring,
• Opportunities for public engagement and deliberations, and
• Our key comments or recommendations on the two Bills that must be addressed to improve the effectiveness of the new Bills.

Download the full submission here