PCE submission on the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has made a submission to the Ministry for Regulation on the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill, outlining his concerns about its implications for environmental protection.

He argues that if environmental regulation were to be considered under the proposed bill, then the principles need to be completely re-written to elaborate the limitations of private property rights as they relate to externalities and the use of public goods and common pool resources, and to spell out their relationship with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

He also questions whether such a bill is necessary to improve the development of regulations and regulatory stewardship when numerous mechanisms already exist. Improving those should be the priority, not new legislation.