Update on the revised Fast-track Approvals Bill

The revised Fast-track Approvals Bill (FTAB) passed into law 17 December 2024.

Nearly 27,000 submissions were received on the original FTAB, 83% of which were against it. In April 2024, NRC sought numerous changes to the Bill in its submission.

While the FTAB has had a number of changes, many of the fundamental concerns of submitters were not effectively addressed, and the Bill remains very complicated.

What is the purpose of the Fast-track Approvals Bill?

The Government’s purpose for the Bill is about streamlining the decision-making process for large projects with significant regional or national benefits.

Rather than reform various legislation that large projects must work through to get approvals, the FTAB pulls all those approvals into a single process – it effectively overrides the other legislation.

Implications of the Fast-track Approvals Bill

Key features include:

  • The purpose clause gives greater weighting to development over environmental considerations;
  • It specifically excludes taking into account Te Tiriti o Waitangi under section 8 of the Resource Management Act;
  • It does not provide for unsettled iwi / hapū under clause 6, which requires all persons performing and exercising functions, powers, and duties under the Act to act in a manner consistent with the obligations of existing Treaty settlements, and MACA customary rights.
  • It removes the ability of relevant iwi authorities to nominate a member for an expert panel;
  • It allows for approval of activities prohibited under the RMA and council plans;
  • It allows previously rejected projects and activities to be submitted for approval under the fast-track process;
  • There is no requirement to directly invite hapū to comment on an application, which leaves a lot of discretion with iwi authorities to share information with them;
  • It is silent on recovery of costs incurred by relevant Māori groups in commenting on referral or substantive applications (although this may be covered in Regulations).

What has changed since the original draft of the Bill?

A few of the important changes since the original draft of the Bill include:

  • Purpose refined; diminished ability for iwi/hapū involvement remains – the purpose provision has been refocused on facilitating projects, rather than providing “fast-track decision-making process that facilitates… projects”. The change is a better expression of what was likely always intended. Protections of a range of existing laws are bypassed or subordinated to this purpose. This diminishes iwi/hapū ability (especially unsettled entities) to ensure proper assessment of environmental and cultural effects.
  • Referral decisions are to be made by a single Minister – The Minister for Infrastructure makes decisions on referral applications (no longer three “Joint Ministers”), but in consultation with Minister for the Environment and other relevant portfolio Ministers.
  • Te ao Māori expertise impacted – only “at least one member” of the expert panel is now required to be suitably qualified in te ao Māori and Māori development, and references to collective understanding of Te Tiriti of Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori have been deleted. These changes impact the influence of te ao Māori knowledge and perspectives in the decision-making process. Expertise in environmental matters has been added as a selection criterion.
  • Final approval no longer sits with Joint Ministers – an expert panel appointed by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) makes decisions to grant approvals and impose conditions, or to decline approvals.
  • Timeframe for comment extended – The timeframe for providing written comments on applications has been extended from 10 to 20 working days — it will still be challenging for many stakeholders to meet, especially for iwi/hapū groups that must consult a wide range of people to come up with agreed positions.

For more detail on the revisions to the Bill:

 

Projects included in Schedule 2 of the Bill

A list of 149 projects is to be included in Schedule 2 of the Bill, meaning they have been pre-approved as referred projects and can directly proceed to make substantive applications to an Expert Panel.

Eleven projects are from Te Taitokerau Northland. Given the size of this list, it is unlikely that many applicants will apply under the normal referral process anytime soon, but it remains an option.

Related information