This Amendment Paper amends the Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill (the Bill) by inserting new clause 21A and related transitional provisions. Section 80A of the Resource Management Act 1991 (the Act) sets out the process that must be followed by a regional council when preparing a freshwater planning instrument (for example, a plan or policy statement) to give effect to a national policy statement for freshwater management.

Section 80A(4) of the Act requires a regional council that has prepared a freshwater planning instrument to give effect to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 to publicly notify the instrument by 31 December 2027. New clause 21A amends section 80A(4) and adds new section 80A(4A). The effect of those amendments is to prohibit regional councils from publicly notifying the instrument earlier than the sooner of the following dates:

• the date on which a new national policy statement for freshwater management (replacing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020) is published under section 54 of the Act:

• 31 December 2025.

However, a regional council may apply to the Minister for the Environment for an exemption under new clause 40B of Schedule 12 of the Act. The Minister may grant the exemption on one of the grounds set out in new clause 40B(1).

New clause 40B and the amendments made by new clause 21A take effect on and from 22 October 2024, which means a regional council must comply with new section 80A(4A) on and from that date.