The Prime Minister says he is confident the government finally has the support it needs to get its Resource Management Act (RMA) changes over the line.
Prime Minister John Key says he expects the proposal to be introduced "relatively soon". Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
During the last term of Parliament, the government had to withdraw the proposals because it could not get support.
John Key said the bill had been drafted and it was not far away from being introduced.
"I'm fairly confident we've got the numbers to get it to a first reading. Whether we can get it out of the committee stage once we go through that, I don't know - it will depend.
"We're in the very early stages but we're certainly making progress. My guess is that it will be introduced relatively soon."
The government announced in January that it planned to recognise urban planning and prioritise housing affordability in its overhaul of the RMA.
The most contentious potential changes were those to sections six and seven of the law, which contain environmental bottom lines.
After New Zealand First leader Winston Peters' win in the Northland by-election in March, the government went back to the drawing board to ensure enough support for the bill.
It withdrew an earlier set of planned changes to the RMA in 2013, after failing to get the support of the Maori Party and United Future.