A proposal by the New Zealand government to create a fast-track ministerial approval process for infrastructure and development projects deemed significant has been declared “a war” on the country’s natural world by environmental groups.

A letter sent to stakeholders Wednesday by National MP and Minister for Resource Management Reform Chris Bishop detailed plans to reform New Zealand’s resource management system.

The National, Act, and NZ First coalition government that took office after the election last October has already repealed the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 and the Spatial Planning Act 2023, which were designed to improve environmental protections by setting hard-line targets on pollution levels among other measures.

However, the coalition left unchanged the previous government’s temporary fast-track consenting regime, which it now wants to keep as a permanent fixture for locally, regionally, and nationally significant infrastructure and developments.

The legislation aims to be introduced to parliament before Mar. 7, according to the letter.

“We recognise how important these developments are for New Zealand’s prosperity,” Bishop said in the letter.

“That is why providing certainty and a faster consenting pathway for significant projects is a priority to us.”

The new fast-track process will be contained in a standalone act with its own purpose statement, and the responsible minister will refer projects for acceptance into the fast-track process.

It will also contain a list of projects that will be first to have their approvals granted.

Referred projects will go to an expert panel, which will have “limited ability to decline a project once referred and will apply any necessary conditions to ensure adverse effects of the project are managed”, the letter said.

The third phase of the reform will see the government replace the Resource Management Act 1991 with new resource management laws based on the “enjoyment of property rights”.

CHILLING

In its own letter published on Thursday, NGO the Environmental Defence Society (EDS) described the government’s plans as “chilling”.

“Let’s not sugar coat this, this is a war on our natural world,” EDS CEO Gary Taylor said.

“It has the potential for environmentally destructive projects to proceed at haste, with minimal environmental assessment, transparency, and public involvement.”

He said that ministerial decision-making on individual projects was unheard of in modern New Zealand, arguing that it could be perversely used to raise political capital or engage in pork-barrelling politics.

“We cannot have law that enables private developers to lobby ministers for approvals, especially when everything seems to be on the table, including coal and gold mining, open ocean aquaculture, large scale wind projects, industrial solar farms, housing developments, infrastructure, and just about anything you can think of,” he said.

Nicola Toki, chief executive of environmental group Forest & Bird, said in a statement that the process would mean New Zealanders would have little to say on new developments, and would not keep nature safe.

“New Zealanders should be alarmed that our incredible natural environment is being treated with such disdain at a time when we’re facing such significant loss,” she said.

“This new legislation is completely unwarranted. Fast-track processes should be narrow, focussed, and with safeguards in place. Instead, what’s proposed is extremely broad, where ministers may essentially be able to decide what goes through the process.”

The newly elected coalition government has already alarmed environmental groups and its Pacific Island neighbours over its plans to restart offshore oil and gas exploration in the country, as well as its lobbying to continue bottom trawling the ocean floor.

It follows remarks by NZ First MP and Minister for Resources, Fisheries and Oceans, Shane Jones, who in December told parliament that the new government would slash green tape for new mining developments.

“If there is a mineral, if there is a mining opportunity, and it’s impeded by a blind frog, goodbye, Freddy,” he said at the time.

By Mark Tilly – mark@carbon-pulse.com

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