The government is proposing changes to fast-track resource consents in a new bill set to go before Parliament in early March.
The minister charged with resource management reform, Chris Bishop, said high costs and long wait times were stifling economic growth.
The current system was costing infrastructure projects around $1.3 billion each year, he said.
“For too long, New Zealanders have had to wait for progress in their towns and cities due to the overly-restrictive RMA. Today we have taken the first steps in cutting through this mess of red tape, so we can supercharge New Zealand’s infrastructure and economic potential,” Bishop said.
The bill would prioritise regionally and nationally significant infrastructure and development projects and create a structure for projects meeting certain criteria to be referred by ministers into a fast track process. […]
Minister for Regional Development Shane Jones said the proposal would unlock opportunities in industries such as aquaculture and mining about the country.
Projects would go before an expert panel to ensure that adverse effects to the environment were managed appropriately but the panel would have only a limited ability to decline a project once it had been referred into the process.
RNZ
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