Coronavirus: Cabinet approves new legislation to fast-track resource consents and boost economy as it emerges from lockdown – Stuff.co.nz

Asthe country braces for a one-in-100-year recession, Cabinet has agreed to a law change that will block thepublicfrom the resource consent processin order to fast track projects that create jobsand stimulatethe economy.

Environment Minister David Parker saidnew legislation was expected to be passed in June to allow for fasterResource Management Act(RMA) consenting ofdevelopment and infrastructureprojects, in response to the damage the coronaviruspandemic was having on the economy.

Created in 1991, the RMAallows communities to make decisions on how their own environment is managed through regional and district resource management plans.

Parker said theRMA providedfor local decision-making generally by local councils with the publichaving a right of participation and appeal.

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However, under the new powers resource consent decisionsfor large projects would not go tocouncil and public input would not happen. Instead,a panel of experts chaired by an Environment Court judge would determine whether a project could be given the green light, he said.

"Most people realise that the world is entering into the worst recession in 100 years as a result of Covid-19," Parker told Stuff.

Tom Lee/Stuff

Attorney-General David Parker says National Leader Simon Bridges, as chair of the Epidemic Response Select Committee, has made an "unprincipled" move in trying to summons high-ranking Government officials to hand over Crown Law advice.

"We think it's justified to put aside those normal rights of participation and have a narrower group of people make these decisions centrally."

As Minister for the Environment Parker would be the "gatekeeper" determiningwhich projects would be fast-trackedand go before the expert panel.

Traditional consentingprocessesused in normal circumstances did notprovide the speed needed in response to the economic fallout from Covid-19, he said.

"The new processes will get projects started sooner and people into jobs faster."

Both private and public projects would be eligiblefor the fast-tracked process such asroading, walking and cycling, rail, housing, sediment removal from silted rivers and estuaries, new wetland construction, flood management works, and projects to prevent landfill erosion.

Ross Giblin/Stuff

Roading projects will benefit from a proposed fast-tracked consenting process.

Projects that helped alleviate housing challenges, encouraged active transport and enhanced the environment would be prioritised, Parker said.

The projects had to be "significant" in size and create a large number of jobs, he said.

"We're not going to be taking over every little resource consent that people have to apply for because that would just choke up this panel and defeat its purpose."

Chris Skelton/Stuff

In 2019 a flood ripped open the Fox Glacier landfill causing large amounts of rubbish to spill into the ocean. Projects to prevent landfill erosion could be fast-tracked under the new law.

Once a project was referred to the panel there was a high level of certainty the resource consent would be granted, he said.

He expected the new legislation to free up resources at a local council level, which should speed up the processing ofotherconsent applications.

Parker said the fast-track process was designed as a short-term intervention to help with economic recovery from Covid-19 and the legislation would be repealed in two years.

Part 2 of the RMA, which contained the core principles of environment protection, would still be applied, he said.

Alden Williams/Stuff

National MP Judith Collins says the changes approved by Cabinet shows the RMA makes it difficult to get anything to get done quickly.

The Opposition's RMA spokeswoman Judith Collins said the changes sounded similar to changesproposed by the National Party.

"They should therefore support the repeal and replacement of the RMA, which is what we are proposing," Collins said.

"Even this government has worked out that the RMA is almostimpossible for anything to get done quickly under it."

Parker said while projects were being fast-tracked environmental safeguards remained.

New Zealand's health response to Covid-19 had given the country a head-start on the world to get the economy moving again, he said.

"This fast-tracking process will allow our economic recovery to accelerate."

Ideas from district and regional councils as well as non-government organisations and the private sector would be considered.

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Coronavirus: Cabinet approves new legislation to fast-track resource consents and boost economy as it emerges from lockdown - Stuff.co.nz