What is this bill about?
After the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, numerous pieces of legislation were passed to give the Crown extraordinary powers to govern the region’s recovery. They aimed to increase the efficiency of the rebuild.
The Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Hon Dr Megan Woods, has introduced this amendment bill which aims to bring forward the removal of some of these powers that are no longer needed. It does this by repealing certain provisions of the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Act 2016.
Dr Woods said the bill’s proposals come from a September 2019 review of the act it is amending.
“The review concluded that given the considerable progress on key regeneration milestones, it is time to amend the legislation to reflect the progress on shifting control back to local leadership in greater Christchurch.”
Some of the powers introduced after the earthquakes include:
- The creation of the role of the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery under the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011. One of the Minister’s powers under section 71 of the Act includes being able to make changes to Resource Management Act (RMA) plans. For example, the Minister approved an amendment to allow residents in some Christchurch suburbs to rebuild homes without needing to seek resource consents.
- The creation of Crown-Council agency Regenerate Christchurch under the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Act 2016. Since then, this agency’s work has included providing advice to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery and developing a plan for the future permanent use of red zone land.
- Allocating the management of the residential red zone to Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) – the Government’s surveying authority. LINZ manages short to medium-term use and access of the zone. It is also re-examining land boundaries of thousands of property titles, looking into its future use and ownership in regards to regeneration plans.
What does this bill mean?
If the bill passes, most changes are intended to come into effect around mid-2020.
The key changes proposed include:
- The removal of the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister’s powers set out in section 71.
- The disestablishment of Regenerate Christchurch. Its original date of disestablishment was 30 June 2021.
- Extending LINZ’s land powers for another two years as a back-up in case it does not finish its work by its original deadline. This aims to give the Crown enough time to complete its work around title reconfiguration in the Ōtākaro/Avon River Corridor area before it is returned to Christchurch City Council. This is aligned with the Crown’s obligations under its Global Settlement Agreement with the Christchurch City Council. The agreement sets out each party’s roles as regeneration responsibilities transition from the Crown to local government.
Who might this bill affect?
- Canterbury residents
- Developers
- Local leadership in the region, which includes Canterbury Regional Council, Christchurch City Council, Selwyn District Council, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, and Waimakariri District Council
What happens next?
This bill was introduced in the House on 19 February 2020.
Please check the progress bar below to see which stage the bill is currently at.
