1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:02,679 Speaker 1: It's twenty four away from six now. On the subject 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: of councils, the Housing Minister Chris Bishop, as I told 3 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:08,760 Speaker 1: you earlier, is giving himself new powers basically to change 4 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:12,520 Speaker 1: local council plans by overriding councils. Cabinet has agreed that 5 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: they will change the RMA to let them get rid 6 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: of any provision in a local council plan that will 7 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: negatively affect economic growth, employment or development. Neil Holdham is 8 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: the mayor of New Plymouth and with us now, hey. 9 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 2: Neil get a head the Hey you doing well? 10 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: Thank you? Do you like this or no? 11 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 2: Yeah? I just want to acknowledge Minister Bishop for listening. 12 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 2: I went and saw him shortly after the coalition government 13 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 2: formed and articulated our frustration with the planning process. The 14 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 2: reality is that elected council members have very little to 15 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 2: no involvement in the development of district plans. These things 16 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,200 Speaker 2: suck in millions of dollars there. They're basically written by 17 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 2: a kind of elite bureaucracy of planners and you know, 18 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 2: we have had very limited influence on them, and they've 19 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:06,040 Speaker 2: tied New Zealand up in knots. They've delayed housing essentially 20 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:08,960 Speaker 2: the way the process of planning works. I mean, your 21 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:13,320 Speaker 2: post district council spent about eight years developing and finalizing 22 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 2: a district plan. And the processes you bring in commissioners, 23 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 2: you pay them huge amounts of money. They sit there 24 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 2: and run the process for you, and at the end 25 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 2: of it you have two choices. You either yes or no. 26 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 2: There's no no ability to change it. If you change it, 27 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 2: you're exposed to court action, millions of dollars down the drain. 28 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 2: And actually we've ended up with a district plan that 29 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:38,759 Speaker 2: you know, is full of things that are just difficult, annoying, 30 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 2: and it just panders to a kind of elite group 31 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 2: of planners and lawyers that bogs New Zealand down. And 32 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 2: you know, it's these layers of bureaucracy and rules are 33 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 2: cutting down our ability to do stuff. We've got limited 34 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 2: capital and it's been eroded by these processes and compliance 35 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 2: with you know, with the best intentions, we've just buried ourselves. 36 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 2: Minister Bishop has listened and he's basically come up with, 37 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 2: you know, with it, saying it's going to take a 38 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 2: couple of years to fix this stuff. But in the 39 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 2: interim we're just going to pull the cork out of 40 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 2: the bottle, and I think good on. 41 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: The we need to change the way that we do it. 42 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: I mean, rather than going through that whole kafuffle that 43 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,399 Speaker 1: you just explained, shouldn't we do something like have one 44 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: giant plan for the country that can be tweaked if 45 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: you need to tweak it for your area or something 46 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: like that, rather than having every single council go through 47 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: this for so many years. 48 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 2: Look, I think that regional plans instead of you know 49 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 2: where I am there. You know there's three district councils 50 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:41,839 Speaker 2: and a regional council and you know regional plans because look, 51 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 2: Auckland is different from Tuttanaki is different from Southland. So 52 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 2: I think there we don't need whatever it is seventy something. 53 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 2: I think you know a dozen or fourteen across New Zealand, 54 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 2: but with some common threads. I think that there should 55 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:57,919 Speaker 2: be some elements of plans that are the same across 56 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 2: the whole of New Zealand. And I think Minister Bishop 57 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:04,839 Speaker 2: has listened. He's trying to simplify these things because I mean, 58 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 2: I'll go back to it's this concept of layering rules 59 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 2: and regulations. I think it's really good that we think 60 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 2: about the environment. And if you think about the first 61 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 2: rules that that sort of came in and said, hey, look, 62 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:18,959 Speaker 2: you know you don't necessarily want to put a chuck 63 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 2: shed in the middle of town by you know, in 64 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 2: a in a suburb, that sort of thing. But what's 65 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 2: happened is we've just piled on regulations and we never 66 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 2: took any off. And now you know when you when 67 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 2: you go to stick a spare room on the back 68 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 2: of your house and then you find you've got to 69 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 2: spend five grand to get a planet to look at it, 70 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 2: and then they go, oh, actually, i'm not sure about 71 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 2: your fire alarm system. Well let's get an independent consultant 72 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 2: in there to do a thing, and you can pay 73 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 2: for that. And then they go, actually, I'm not sure 74 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 2: that that that I believe that things, so I'll get 75 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 2: my own one and then I'll charge you for that. 76 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 2: And we just you know, a year later and you're 77 00:03:57,600 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 2: twenty grand in the hull and all you wanted to 78 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 2: do was chuck a spear room on the back. May 79 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 2: you speak my language? 80 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, I love it, Thank you mate, Really appreciate your 81 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: insight there. Neil Holdham new Plymouth mayor. 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