Ministers Shane Jones (Regional Development) and Chris Bishop (RMA Reform, Infrastructure) officially opened the application window for Government’s ‘Fast Track’ approvals regime this week.
And you better get yours in quickly, because the window closes May 3rd.
Project applications can be submitted by either public or private sectors. I suspect a heap of busy people are beavering away in our HB councils and the HB Regional Recovery Agency to get the paperwork filed. So far, people ‘in the know’ only acknowledge hearing ‘various conversations’ about projects that might apply from our region.
A good bet might be the Ruataniwha Dam II, which Irrigation NZ recently identified as its top priority project, presumably having conferred with someone in Hawke’s Bay. Personally, I would be more interested in speeding up projects that moved Transpower’s Redclyffe Power station and Kiwirail’s railroad bridge in Awatoto to higher, safer ground. Or how about a bioenergy plant or a hydro-fueling station?
To qualify, projects must have “significant regional or national benefits”, and Ministers may consider whether the project:
“(a) has been identified as a priority project in a central government, local government, or sector plan or strategy (for example, in a general policy statement or spatial strategy) or central government infrastructure priority list:
(b) will deliver regionally or nationally significant infrastructure:
(c) will increase the supply of housing, address housing needs, or contribute to a well-functioning urban environment (within the meaning of policy 1 of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020):
(d) will deliver significant economic benefits:
(e) will support primary industries, including aquaculture:
(f) will support development of natural resources, including minerals and petroleum:
(g) will support climate change mitigation, including the reduction or removal of greenhouse gas emissions:
(h) will support adaptation, resilience, and recovery from natural hazards:
(i) will address significant environmental issues:
(j) is consistent with local or regional planning documents, including spatial strategies.
Anything left out?!
After the window closes, a ‘Fast Track Advisory Group’ – yet to be identified – “will look carefully at the projects and provide independent recommendations to the Ministers of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Transport.”
The Fast Track Approvals Bill enabling this was referred to the Environment Committee on 7 March.
Before final enactment, some projects will be included in the Bill as effectively pre-approved (Schedule 2A) – they are automatically referred to an ‘Expert Panel’ which will recommend relevant consent and permit conditions. Other selected projects (Schedule 2B) must be referred to an expert panel by the joint Fast Track Ministers (Jones, Bishop and Transport Minister Brown). In both cases, the three Fast Track Ministers noted above make the call unencumbered. The expert recommendations can be accepted or ignored by the Ministers. In fact, Minister Bishop confirmed that even projects previously rejected by courts would be eligible to try for fast track approval.
The mind set behind fast tracking is pretty clear. As the Government announcement put it: “The Fast Track Approvals Bill will cut the red and green tape that is holding New Zealand back from building the important infrastructure and other significant projects New Zealand needs to grow the economy.”
The Labour Government also had a fast track scheme in place, but it provided appropriate checks on the decision-making process in terms of outside scrutiny. Here is a good comparison of the schemes prepared by law firm Bell Gully.
With the Coalition Government, use of the phrase “green tape” is the real message. We’ll be eager to see if any genuine ‘environmental’ projects make the Fast Track cut.