Support for the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill is high among New Zealanders, according to a new poll.
The poll by Curia for the Taxpayers' Union showed 44 percent of those surveyed in New Zealand supported the Bill. Opposition to the legislation was 32 percent, while 24 percent were unsure.
Curia carried out the poll between June 4 and 6, just days before protesters gathered in Auckland and other parts of New Zealand to demonstrate against the Bill.
The protests were held in response to the Coalition's "general war on nature", organisers said.
Curia's poll found nearly three-quarters of respondents who said they were ACT Party voters supported the Bill. By contrast, only 3 percent of polled Te Pāti Māori voters were in favour of the legislation.
It showed 60 percent of rural residents polled supported the Bill.
The Bill is designed to streamline and speed up consenting times for large-scale developments, such as roading, housing and mines.
Twenty-seven thousand people and organisations put forward written submissions on the Bill, which is currently before a Select Committee.
"In a nutshell, what the Bill says is that we want to reduce bureaucracy so consenting can be done faster," said Tina Porou, the founder of environmental consultancy Poipoia. "Now, that would be fine, except what they've said are the barriers are Māori and the environment," she told The Hui in a recent interview.
Fifty-three percent of polled Te Pāti Māori voters opposed the Bill, it found, while 44 percent were unsure.
Taxpayers' Union policy and public affairs manager James Ross, commenting on the poll, said: "New Zealand's economy is limping along and we need to get building again.
"That can only happen with wholesale planning reform but, for now, this Bill offers a partial stop-gap solution to get the country's cogs turning."
Curia, which also carries out the National Party's internal polling, conducted the Fast-track Approvals Bill survey randomly amongst 1000 New Zealanders by phone and online. The poll's margin of error was +/- 3.1 percent.
