On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 9 December 2025, the big RMA reform is finally here. RMA Minister Chris Bishop explains what resource consents you will soon not need anymore.

The Education Minister reacts to all the dubious spending by schools and principals that's been highlighted by the Auditor General.

Economist Brad Olsen finally settles the debate over whether our long summer holidays are hurting the economy.

Plus, New Zealand Navy's Commodore Shane Arndell reveals the messages the Chinese war ships sent our navy while the HMNZS Aotearoa was patrolling near North Korea and Taiwan.

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These RMA changes hit the nail on the head by putting private property rights front and centre.

These rights are basically what keeps rich countries rich and their absence keeps poor countires poor.

If a council wants to infringe on them, it should compensate you for it. And these changes lower the threshold for compensation, which is a good thing.

Want to suddenly invent a Significant Natural Area or label something 'heritage'? Well, that may cost you, Councillor.

It'll make councils think twice before imposing some of this stupid stuff on property owners. We've had too examples of councils just making these up and restricting land use on a whim. On an airy fairy idea.

The reason property rights are so important is simple. You use your land as collateral to borrow. To build. To invest. Owning acts as an incentive to build assets. It creates growth and production.

This production is then taxed. The taxes pay for nice, communal things that everybody likes. Like classrooms and hospitals.

What we need now is for politicians to stick to this plan. And not mess with it.

The new bills will pass first reading next week, and the first bits will come into effect by the end of 2026.

Half the consents currently required will no longer be needed.

Anyone who's been through the consenting process will be celebrating this.

But only if the changes stick. Only if Labour promises not to touch them. Because this is not our first rodeo.

Remember, it was Labour who first repealed the RMA and replaced it with 2 new bills. 900 pages long.

The Coalition got in and one of the first things they did was ri[ it up.

We reverted back to the RMA.

Now the Coalition's bills are out. 900 pages.

The test of how long they remain law is not lasting another term of Coalition, but a first term of Labour, whenever that may be.

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We learnt this week that A New Zealand Navy vessel was followed by 7 Chinese Warships while patrolling Asian waters.

The HMNZS Aotearoa had crossed through the Taiwan Strait, and was patrolling international waters to curb North Korean war programmes.

Commodore Shane Arndell told Ryan Bridge that this is a routine practice, and communication was open between the HMNZS Aotearoa and the Chinese fleet.

'We communicate, we let each other know what we're doing, we keep it all nice and safe and everything is respectful.'

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