It is important the Otago Regional Council makes sure any "tinkering" with the Resource Management Act is in the best interests of the Otago region, councillors say.
The Government has proposed sweeping changes to the RMA, many of which would have a huge impact on regional councils.
They include streamlining processes for projects of national significance, including the creation of an Environmental Protection Agency.
At the policy and resource planning committee meeting this week, councillors agreed to workshop the topic to prepare a submission to the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill 2009.
Cr Louise Croot said she was concerned about the tinkering, at the lack of information about the "so-called independent agency" and how that would sit in relation to local communities.
"We need to focus on what is right for us."
Chief executive Graeme Martin said the RMA itself was "one of the best" but was let down by the behaviour of the practitioners involved in it.
With the protection agency, it was important the council was confident it would be good for Otago and service the province well.
"Will it lower costs for Otago and this council? We cannot try and solve New Zealand's problems but defend Otago's position."
Cr Bryan Scott said the RMA needed refining and ways to minimise the costs of processes needed to be found.
However, it was not clear what the problems were and whether a "Wellington-based faceless entity" would listen to communities.
Cr David Shepherd said practicality and balance needed to be found so the general public seeking consents had a smoother ride.
Committee chairman Michael Deaker said there was a "whiff" of 1979's National Development Act, which resulted in the "think big projects" like the Clyde dam. It was repealed seven years later and all the projects finished up in multinational ownership, he said.
"It's wrong to think this is just a response to niggles about the RMA. It's part of a much bigger picture, in my opinion."
