Fast Track Approvals Bill: Greenpeace calls for opponents to take action on Saturday

  • 07/06/2024

Conservation organisations from across New Zealand will protest the Government's fast-track legislation on Saturday. 

Groups including Greenpeace, Forest and Bird, and Kiwis Against Seabed Mining will descend on central Auckland to make their voices heard.   

They're protesting the Fast Track Approvals Bill - legislation aiming to speed up the approval of building projects and reduce the cost of consenting.  

Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman told AM the bill will put conservation land under threat after years of fighting to protect it. 

"It's just outrageous," he said of the bill.  

"If you look at the actual evidence instead of the rhetoric... the cost of consenting in New Zealand is .5 of a percent of the overall project to 2 percent - and that is in line with international consenting costs." 

Greenpeace has been promoting this weekend's protest by displaying in Auckland a "National Party-blue wrecking ball" with a figure depicting Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on top. 

The New Zealand arm of the World Wildlife Fund was also behind the movement, with a post on social media urging protesters to ensure Resources Minister Shane Jones "sees a sea of fingers in the crowd demanding protection for our ocean". 

This latest protest comes after iwi in May descended on Parliament to protest the bill.  

At the time, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop - one of the MPs who'd get unprecedented power from the Fast Track Bill - said he understood the concerns. 

"I think there's a pathway through here where we land a position - where we get development - but protect the environment at the same time." 

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