1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,640
Speaker 1: Hey, good afternoon.

2
00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:03,560
Speaker 2: The government's now it's sweeping changes to RMA rules, in

3
00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:07,600
Speaker 2: particular the national policy statements that deal with infrastructure, farming,

4
00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,760
Speaker 2: freshwater management and so on. For example, the governments announce

5
00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:12,520
Speaker 2: they going to make it easier to get consent for

6
00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:15,720
Speaker 2: mining and quarrying, boost the housing supply, and then reduce

7
00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:18,320
Speaker 2: rules for farmers as well. Chris Bishop Is, the Minister

8
00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,000
Speaker 2: for RMA reforming, is with us now bus shallow. Hello,

9
00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:22,759
Speaker 2: what are you planning for the electricity sector.

10
00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:26,600
Speaker 3: We're planning a strength and national policy statement for renewables,

11
00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,000
Speaker 3: which I mean, it's complicated, but the short story is

12
00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,080
Speaker 3: it will send a really clear message to people doing

13
00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:34,520
Speaker 3: resource consents that we need more energy, we need more renewables.

14
00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:38,640
Speaker 3: In particular, the current policy statement is pretty vague and

15
00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:40,720
Speaker 3: it's not directive enough, so it will be much clearer

16
00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:44,199
Speaker 3: about that. Likewise, on transmission, you know, for generation, you've

17
00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:46,839
Speaker 3: got to have the transmission and the distribution. Really hard

18
00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:48,879
Speaker 3: to get consent for some transmission around the place. It'll

19
00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,360
Speaker 3: be easy to get consent for all of these major process.

20
00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,200
Speaker 1: Trying to wait the consent in favor.

21
00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:54,680
Speaker 3: Of a yes, yes it is, so it sends a

22
00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:57,760
Speaker 3: clear message from central government that we need infrastructure. We're

23
00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,720
Speaker 3: also doing a new policy statement on structure, which there

24
00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:02,480
Speaker 3: isn't at the moment, which is crazy when you think

25
00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,080
Speaker 3: about it. So we need infrastructure, we need renewable energy,

26
00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:07,920
Speaker 3: we need these things to grow the economy and boast energies.

27
00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,800
Speaker 3: To make it a default, yes, it doesn't make it

28
00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:13,880
Speaker 3: a default, yes, but it seems a very clear waiting

29
00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,679
Speaker 3: in favor of development through these statements.

30
00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:17,479
Speaker 1: And brings the costs down.

31
00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,920
Speaker 3: Well, it will in time, because if you're trying to

32
00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,199
Speaker 3: get a resource consent for a wind farm or geo thermal,

33
00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,360
Speaker 3: you can spend literally years in court, millions and millions

34
00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,240
Speaker 3: of dollars on lawyers. And it's also the time like

35
00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,080
Speaker 3: it takes sometimes it takes six eight years to get

36
00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,800
Speaker 3: resource consent for a wind farm. It's totally crazy at

37
00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,000
Speaker 3: a time when we have energy shortage and all of

38
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:37,440
Speaker 3: these abundant renewables out there.

39
00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:39,319
Speaker 1: On the freshwater statement, are you getting rid of the

40
00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:40,440
Speaker 1: tamonal or to why part?

41
00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,040
Speaker 3: We're consulting on rebalancing it and that's one of the options.

42
00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:45,720
Speaker 3: So we haven't made a firm decision on what.

43
00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:48,320
Speaker 1: Rid of it all together. It's so vague and weird.

44
00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,200
Speaker 3: It is vague and it does cause complexity. We're going

45
00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:53,960
Speaker 3: through a bit of a two stage process there and

46
00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:55,480
Speaker 3: we are consulting. That's one of the options is to

47
00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,440
Speaker 3: get rid of it entirely. But generally we are rebalancing

48
00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:01,440
Speaker 3: the system in favor of all water users and making

49
00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,240
Speaker 3: sure that we protect fresh water but also we can

50
00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,640
Speaker 3: use it. And also we're looking at things like greater

51
00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,320
Speaker 3: direction around water storage. It needs to be easy to

52
00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:10,919
Speaker 3: store water for.

53
00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,440
Speaker 1: This in Auckland. What's the problem with quarries. Why is

54
00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:16,600
Speaker 1: it so hard to get a quarry or expand a quarry?

55
00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:19,680
Speaker 3: Well, good question. So we are making changes to a

56
00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:21,400
Speaker 3: whole suite of different things to make it easier to

57
00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,480
Speaker 3: get a quarry underway and a mine. It's really hard

58
00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:26,200
Speaker 3: to get consent for a quarry and we need them.

59
00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,240
Speaker 3: One of the major drivers why roads are so expensive

60
00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,400
Speaker 3: to build in the Zealands. It's just really difficult to

61
00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,480
Speaker 3: get the fill, get their aggregate to build the roads.

62
00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,639
Speaker 3: So there's all sorts of rules around indigenous bio diversity,

63
00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,800
Speaker 3: around wheatlands, around significanatural areas that the system makes it

64
00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,320
Speaker 3: just really too hard, and so we are stripping back

65
00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:44,760
Speaker 3: some of those protections in order to allow quarries.

66
00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:47,320
Speaker 2: And let's be honest about it, right, you're deprioritizing, not

67
00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,160
Speaker 2: completely deprioritizing, but you're lowering the priority on the environment here.

68
00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,480
Speaker 3: Well yeah, I mean we're saying that in relation to quarries,

69
00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,440
Speaker 3: they are of such significant importance to our future infrastructure,

70
00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,840
Speaker 3: addressing our infrastructure deficit that where it makes sense to

71
00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,120
Speaker 3: you should allow quarries to expand and open new ones.

72
00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:06,920
Speaker 3: That people don't necessarily like it, but the reality is

73
00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:10,079
Speaker 3: they also need we need roads, and they also don't

74
00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,720
Speaker 3: want to spend billions and billions of dollars building the roads.

75
00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:14,079
Speaker 3: So it needs to be easier to get through the

76
00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,800
Speaker 3: consenting process and the costs of the material going then

77
00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:18,720
Speaker 3: like the fell and the aggregate, you know, it needs.

78
00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:18,960
Speaker 1: To be cheaper.

79
00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:21,640
Speaker 2: Yes, Okay, now, Bush, what's going on with the road cones?

80
00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:23,240
Speaker 2: But I'm going to talk about this later in the program.

81
00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,040
Speaker 2: But I see road cones everywhere, and I thought, you'll

82
00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,359
Speaker 2: predecessor Simme and Brown declared a war on road cones,

83
00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:28,440
Speaker 2: and they're supposed to be gone.

84
00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,080
Speaker 3: We've got a war on road cones, have you?

85
00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:30,480
Speaker 2: Though?

86
00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,119
Speaker 3: We do the war there and I can report some progress.

87
00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,600
Speaker 3: So we now track well, firstly, we now track how

88
00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:38,320
Speaker 3: much is being spent on it, so the number of

89
00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,160
Speaker 3: dollars being spent as tracking down as a percentage. One

90
00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:43,680
Speaker 3: of the reasons why you do see them it is

91
00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,760
Speaker 3: that we're spending a huge amount more money on maintenance.

92
00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:48,560
Speaker 3: So when you do maintenance and you fill in all

93
00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:50,720
Speaker 3: the potholes, you know you don't necessarily need as many

94
00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:52,920
Speaker 3: as the road cones are out there. At the moment,

95
00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:54,560
Speaker 3: you do need a bit of protection.

96
00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,760
Speaker 2: But yeah, okay, listen, I'm okay with five road cones

97
00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:00,840
Speaker 2: at every pothole. If there are a thound podcoles, there

98
00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,000
Speaker 2: are five thousand road cones, I don't mind. What I've

99
00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:05,120
Speaker 2: got a problem with is five thousand road cones at

100
00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:05,760
Speaker 2: the one pothole.

101
00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:06,720
Speaker 1: And I'm still seeing that.

102
00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,440
Speaker 3: Yeah, look, I could, I can't. I can't not agree

103
00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:11,440
Speaker 3: with you. Of course I agree with you. One of

104
00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:13,080
Speaker 3: the interesting things that I've just got the data today,

105
00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,560
Speaker 3: because I suspected you might ask about this, is INSYTA

106
00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:17,640
Speaker 3: has been going around and actually checking when they're needed,

107
00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,920
Speaker 3: and they've actually removed three thousand road cones from three

108
00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:23,920
Speaker 3: thousand sites in the last year or so, what.

109
00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:26,160
Speaker 1: Like three thousand road cones from three thousand signs.

110
00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:28,599
Speaker 3: No, I sorr, it's three thousand sites around the country

111
00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,320
Speaker 3: that has just taken out the road cones so that

112
00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,160
Speaker 3: they found out, well they weren't requiet. They weren't Yeah,

113
00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,320
Speaker 3: they just meant they weren't needed. So they're redundant. They

114
00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:37,719
Speaker 3: call them redundant road cones. So we've still got a

115
00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,279
Speaker 3: war on it. We're winning the war, but it will

116
00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:42,920
Speaker 3: take time. You know when battles overnight.

117
00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:44,080
Speaker 1: Are they ignoring you bish?

118
00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:45,919
Speaker 3: No, But I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what

119
00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:48,039
Speaker 3: I am king to crack down on. And there's some

120
00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,880
Speaker 3: stuff coming around this in the future. There's councils, so

121
00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:52,640
Speaker 3: insy TA has got their house in order a bit.

122
00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:56,640
Speaker 3: That's central government councils though, like seriously charging one thousand

123
00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,480
Speaker 3: or five thousand bucks for temporary traffic management to run

124
00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,280
Speaker 3: a parade. Yep, that stuff's nuts. You know it's going

125
00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,120
Speaker 3: to stop that well watch the space, don't care.

126
00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:07,320
Speaker 1: Hope, So thank you very much.

127
00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:09,440
Speaker 2: I appreciate your time, mate, and go well at the

128
00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:11,960
Speaker 2: Music Awards the scene four talk. Yeah, I hope, I

129
00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,560
Speaker 2: hope somebody decent wins, I don't know who you're rooting for.

130
00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,279
Speaker 2: That's Chris Bishop, Minister for RMA Reform. For more from

131
00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,640
Speaker 2: Hither Duplessy, Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd

132
00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,800
Speaker 2: be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on

133
00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:25,720
Speaker 2: iHeartRadio