Submission on the proposed Fast Track Approvals Bill, 2024

 Submission on the proposed Fast Track Approvals Bill, 2024

Submitter: Professor Euan G. Mason

Profile: Dr Euan Mason is a Professor at the New Zealand School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, where he teaches silviculture, statistics, modelling, tree physiology and research methodology.  His research interests include forest growth and yield modelling, tree physiology, and silviculture.  He has published many peer-reviewed articles book chapters related to primary production and the environment, and has been employed by government ministries, local authorities and political parties to advise them on environmental issues from time to time.  He is a New Zealand citizen, born in Invercargill.  He was educated at universities in New Zealand and the United States of America.

Background

New Zealand’s natural landscapes and the species that inhabit them are our precious heritage. About 80% of our native species live nowhere else on earth, and many are endangered. We have cleared the majority of forests that cloaked our land prior to humans arriving here, and many of the original forest types no longer exist. Moreover, we can no longer swim in the majority of our rivers because they are so polluted. We have obligations to the rest of the world to reduce our net greenhouse gas emissions, and it now seems clear that we shall fail to meet them, threatening our reputation, our export markets and our self respect.

Many of those failures result from poor decision-making processes that prioritised money making over careful stewardship of resources. For instance, the government over-rode democratic processes to appoint commissioners to govern Environment Canterbury when it became clear that access to aquifers for irrigating dairy farms would be threatened by a scientific assessment of the effects of that irrigation. As a consequence we are now faced with dead rivers and nitrogen-laden water supplies so that in some districts we can no longer drink the water.

The government proposes to yet again circumvent normal processes related to approvals of industrial and primary production projects by establishing a small cadre of ministerially-appointed “experts” and allowing just three ministers to approve projects without any requirement for them to consider the advice of these so-called “experts”, let alone consider public submissions.

The proposed process is in violation of the treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi is structured around three principles; partnership, protection and participation. All three of those principles are undermined by the proposed fast track process. There is no sense in which partnership with tangata whenua is provided for, the land will not be adequately protected, and participation of everyone, including tangata whenua in the decision-making process is removed. If just three ministers have the ultimate say without any requirement for them to consider submissions from Maori then why should Maori bother to participate?

The proposed process is in violation of the International Bill of Human Rights

The International Bill of Human Rights article 21 says that “Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.” Democracy is not just about holding elections. Participation in government decision-making via submissions is vital to the health of our democracy. The fast track approvals process denies access to decision-making on projects that will affect all of us and our descendants.

The proposed process is a step towards tyranny and paves the way for corruption

Handing all power of approvals that might undermine our environment and threaten our well-being to just three government ministers borders on tyranny, and opens the door to corruption. We already suffer from a democratic process that is overwhelmingly driven by money for parties to advertise during elections, thereby giving a far greater voice to wealthy citizens than to those in poverty. These same wealthy people are the ones who will benefit most from fast-track approvals that damage our environment, and so contributions to political parties may affect the decision-making of the three ministers vested with tyrannical power.

Moreover, those three ministers will very likely be subjected to offers that amount to corruption in order to allow environmentally damaging or outright dangerous projects to proceed.

Implementing such a weak, potentially corrupt decision-making process will move New Zealand from the ranks of advanced democracies into the those of banana republics.

 

Who will speak for the land?

Who will speak for the water?

Who will speak for our forests?

Who will speak for the creatures we share our land with?

Who will speak for future generations?

 

With the proposed fast track process, the answer is, “nobody”. Short-term finance will govern our decisions, and our nation will suffer for it. Our grandchildren deserve better than this.