Cabinet has agreed to recommend a suite of sensible changes to the Fast-track Approvals Bill, say RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones.

The Ministers also today released an overview of the 384 projects that have applied to be listed in the Bill.

“We’re delighted by the massive interest in our Fast-track process. New Zealand has a housing crisis, a massive infrastructure deficit, and very ambitious climate change targets," says Bishop.

"Fast-track will be a huge step forward toward addressing this trifecta of challenges for government and the private sector alike."

Bishop says for too long New Zealanders have had to put up with overly restrictive planning rules that stifle much-needed growth.

"The Coalition Government is cutting through the jumble of consenting processes so we can deliver new infrastructure up and down the country, grow our economy, and provide much needed new jobs for the regions," says Bishop.

“The positive feedback on our one-stop shop Fast-track Bill has confirmed what we’ve been hearing for a long time: Kiwis want to see progress in their towns and cities and are sick of waiting years for it,” says Jones.

“However, we have listened to the concerns of many submitters, some of whom have identified areas where the Bill can be changed to deliver a more robust and inclusive process.”

Cabinet has agreed to recommend the following changes to the Fast-track Approvals Bill to the Environment Committee:

• Projects will be referred to an expert panel by the Minister for Infrastructure alone, who will be required to consult the Minister for the Environment and other relevant portfolio Ministers as part of that referral process.

• Final decisions on projects will not sit with Ministers but with the expert panel. This is the same as the previous Labour government’s fast-track process.
• Expert panels will include expertise in environmental matters; will include an iwi authority representative only when required by Treaty settlements; and will include Māori development and te ao Māori expertise in place of mātauranga Māori.
• Applicants will be required to include information on previous decisions by approving authorities, including previous court decisions, in their applications for the referring Minister to consider.
• Timeframes for comment at the referral and panel stages will be extended in order to give parties, including those impacted by a proposed project, more time to provide comments.

“The Fast Track Approvals Bill is currently before the Environment Select Committee for consideration," says BIshop.

"Cabinet has recommended the above changes to the Committee, and the Committee will decide whether or not to accept them."

Bishop says successive governments have let red and green tape stop economic growth for too long.

"These changes get the balance right between enabling major projects, keeping the one-stop shop nature of the Bill, and giving the public confidence that the process is fair and reasonable,” says Bishop.

High-level information about the 384 projects that have applied to be listed in Schedule 2 of the Fast-track Approvals Bill show the spread of applicants, both in type and regionally.

The applications received by the Independent Advisory Group are made up of:

• Housing and urban development projects: 40 per cent
• Infrastructure projects: 24 per cent
• Renewable energy projects:18 per cent
• Primary industries projects: 8 per cent
• Quarrying projects: 5 per cent
• Mining projects: 5 per cent

The project applications were considered by the Independent Advisory Group which then provided a report to ministers with recommendations on projects to include in the Bill.

In coming months Cabinet will consider which of the projects will be listed in Schedule 2 of the Bill. They will then be included in a paper to be put before Parliament once the Fast-track Approvals Bill returns to the House later this year.

After the Bill is enacted, projects listed in Part A of Schedule 2 will be able to apply directly to an Expert Panel for final decision, as well as the application of any conditions.