The National Government is sacrificing nature and granting itself unprecedented power, all in the name of private profit.
What’s more, it doesn’t want Kiwis to have a say in the types of projects that are considered for fast tracking.
Currently, large-scale projects like coal mines are subject to environmental protection laws and must be given the go-ahead by an independent group of experts. National’s proposed Fast Track Approvals Bill will remove that power from the experts and hand it to three of its own Ministers, giving them the final say on the fate of some of our most treasured natural assets.

And by all indications so far, these Ministers will give the green light to companies looking to trample our ecosystems and plunder our resources. One of these three Ministers is New Zealand First MP Shane Jones, who has made no secret of his desire to put commercial interests ahead of our flora and fauna. He has made it clear he wants mining back in a big way, whatever the cost to our environment, climate goals, and future generations.

Among the companies invited to apply for fast tracking are some that made campaign donations to National, ACT, and New Zealand First. Ministers shouldn’t be taking donations from businesses with one hand and making decisions about their projects on the other.
As if this isn’t outrageous enough, National could remove the voice of the people from the entire fast track process. Should its bill pass, Kiwis could be kept in the dark and have no say on landscape-altering projects happening in our own backyards. This is an attack on democracy itself.

The Fast Track Approvals Bill could also allow National to give the green light to projects prohibited under current plans, as well as projects already rejected by courts. National MPs are already taking meetings with large-scale polluters – including oil, gas, and mining companies – and have invited applications from more than 200 companies.

Unsurprisingly, the Fast Track Approvals Bill is hugely unpopular. Submissions from the public have been overwhelmingly against it. Seven of our eight regional councils have opposed it. The Auditor-General has formally expressed his concern. Even former National minister Simon Upton, now Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned of “significant environmental risks”. The Bill is a disaster on an industrial scale, and National is hellbent on making it happen.
Fast track consenting can work well, if implemented correctly. Labour’s fast track consenting scheme approved projects for residential and commercial building, renewable energy, and infrastructure. The difference is we gave a great deal of consideration to how those projects could work with nature rather than against it, in all final decisions.
By contrast, National’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is an assault on nature, transparency, and democracy, all in the name of private profit.