Tear it up and start again – fast-track approvals Bill should be scrapped – Forest and Bird

Forest & Bird warns that the Fast-track Approvals Bill poses significant risks to the environment, to local communities, to democracy and to future generations of Kiwis. This is the basis of the submission to the Select Committee.

Forest & Bird wants the current bill to be withdrawn.

Nicola Toki, CEO of Forest & Bird, said: “This bill needs to be thrown in the bin. Instead of encouraging sustainable development that will deliver a win/win/win situation for people, the environment and the economy, this bill is a giant leap backwards for New Zealand.”

“It will cause significant damage to our environment and our communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future.

“This bill and its processes have been a shameless two-finger to the New Zealand public, who rightly want to have a say in the natural environment that defines us,” Ms Toki said.

“We must stand up and put an end to this bill and this administration’s brutal war on nature.”

Forest & Bird’s submission highlights the risks to New Zealand’s democratic processes – pointing out that the bill encourages developers to lobby ministers directly to refer and approve their projects, and that affected communities and those who represent nature do not have the right to advocate for the environment.

Ms Toki says Forest & Bird understands the desire for faster consent processes and supports process improvements – but these must not jeopardize the environmental outcomes provided for in existing legislation.

She says Forest & Bird also recognizes the importance of enabling development that will help New Zealand achieve its emissions reduction targets, but the bill, as currently worded, will only hasten one thing: destruction of the environment and further damage to nature. thousands of endangered species can be found here.

Forest & Bird encourages all concerned Kiwis to submit their own submissions for the bill before the fast-approaching deadline (one minute to midnight, Friday, April 19).

To date, nearly 11,000 people have applied using Forest & Bird’s rapid submission template.

Many others have written detailed individual submissions voicing their concerns.