New Zealand - December 2024

The Fast-Track Approvals Bill passed its third and final reading in Parliament on 17 December. The bill provides for a ‘fast-track’ for the approval of development projects deemed by a civil servant committee to be of regional or national importance and names 149 projects for initial consideration. The bill was criticized by environmental groups and the parliamentary opposition for excluding environmental considerations and relevant state agencies from the streamlined process, for prohibiting public, expert, or civil society comment, and for failing to consider conflicts of interest both in selecting committee members and in the list of initial projects. After months of debate and sizable protests in June, the bill was passed quickly in December with limited information about the included projects available to either the public or to parliament; documents explaining the 149 included projects were not available to MPs until 72 hours before the third and final vote. The bill will formally become law when signed by New Zealand’s Governor-General.

Sources: Radio New Zealand, New Zealand Herald, The Guardian