Hon DAVID PARKER: Urban areas have been struggling to keep pace with population growth and the need for affordable housing; water quality has deteriorated; biodiversity is diminishing; and there's an urgent need to reduce carbon emissions as well as adapt to climate change. The new laws will improve the natural environment, better enable development within environmental limits, and provide an effective role for Māori while improving housing supply and process affordability. This will be achieved through planning processes that will be improved so that costs and times are reduced for users of the system.