From dormant tool to land grab
Mana Whakahono \u0101 Rohe agreements sat largely untouched for years. Introduced under the Resource Management Act and in force since 19 April 2017, they let tangata whenua and councils record bespoke arrangements for how they would work together on resource management decisions. The problem for anyone trying to build was baked into the design: each deal was tailored locally, so a developer operating across regions could face entirely different consultation rules in each one, with no way to price or plan around them.
For most of their life they were barely used. Since the tool was created in 2017, fewer than one agreement per year had been completed on average. Then the Government confirmed the RMA’s replacement was coming, and the mechanism roared to life.
What set off the scramble
When the RMA replacement bills were introduced in late 2025, only eight MWaR agreements existed. Since then, several dozen more have been agreed or initiated. The Ministry for the Environment counted 14 agreements in negotiation since the start of 2026, with more than 20 in total.
The reason was obvious. The original plan was to carry existing agreements across into the new planning system, so there was a powerful incentive to get deals locked in before the door closed. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop told Mike Hosking there had been a “mad rush” for councils and iwi to secure deals before the concept was scrapped. So the Government scrapped the transfer instead.
The bill landed on landowners
Federated Farmers had been sounding the alarm since 14 July. Spokesperson Mark Hooper said “councils are legally required to negotiate these agreements, which puts elected members under enormous pressure to complete them before the law changes”, creating a real risk of rushed decisions and thin public scrutiny.
The practical cost was concrete. Hooper warned that “a farmer wanting consent for a feed pad, a new effluent system or worker accommodation could end up facing extra costs, delays and bureaucracy”, adding that the last thing rural New Zealand needed was another layer of consultants, planners and lawyers on an already broken system. He also flagged an accountability trap: signing long-term deals now “could bind future councils that don’t even exist yet”.
Mapped certainty replaces negotiated uncertainty
What comes next is the part that matters for business. Councils will still be able to enter iwi participation agreements, but narrowly scoped ones covering how iwi participate in statutory planning and Treaty settlement redress, with “clear guardrails” written into legislation “to prevent scope creep”. That means the terms are defined in statute, not invented afresh in each council chamber.
The bigger shift is upfront mapping of sites of cultural significance such as p\u0101 sites and burial grounds. Bishop told Hosking most New Zealanders would agree these should be exempt from development. Identifying them in planning documents gives developers the constraints before they lodge, not mid-negotiation. He was also explicit that Treaty obligations stand: “The Crown has, for 30 years, signed a succession of legally binding agreements with iwi that we intend to honour.”
Federated Farmers welcomed the call, with Hooper saying it was “extremely encouraging” and that decision-making powers affecting communities should stay with elected representatives.
Why it counts
Strip out the Treaty politics framing and this is a straightforward win against the RMA’s oldest flaw: unpredictable, council-by-council variation that nobody can plan around. The reform it sits inside is projected to remove around 45% of consent applications, cut 15,000 to 22,000 consents a year, and save $13.3 billion over 30 years, with a transition window now stretched to 39 months.
The test now is whether the statutory guardrails hold. If the new agreements stay narrow and the site mapping is done properly, developers get something the RMA never gave them: knowing the rules before they start.
Sources
- Government to kill iwi-council participation agreements (2026-07-20)
- Iwi-council agreements ‘narrowly scoped’ in late change to new RMA system (2026-07-20)
- Government scraps existing iwi agreements as RMA reform enters final stages (2026-07-20)
- Chris Bishop on scrapping Mana Whakahono \u0101 Rohe in the new system (2026-07-21)
- Fed Farmers welcome Mana Whakahono \u0101 Rohe agreements decision (2026-07-20)
- Mana Whakahono \u0101 Rohe: Iwi participation arrangements (2026-01-29)