"Dig, Baby, Dig!"

NATIONAL INTEREST / ENVIRONMENTALISM

It’s a clear, sunny day in the forested hills of the Wharekirauponga Bush. Birdsong fills the air, creatures scurry on the forest floor; all is calm in the conservation park. That is, except for the rumble of the earth, the creaking of heavy machinery and the hum of the massive ventilation shafts.

This is the future of a massive portion of Aotearoa’s natural beauty under the Fast-track Approvals Bill. Just one of many projects to be considered, the Wharekirauponga gold tunnel threatens the world-renowned biodiversity of Aotearoa. The cracks are showing in the flawless, environmentally pristine image we project to the world, trampled into the mud by the current National coalition government. Leading the charge are three prominent figures of environmental degradation: Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Development. Simeon Brown, Minister for Transport. And Chris Bishop, Minister for Infrastructure.

What is the FTA?

The Fast-track Approvals Bill is posited as a ‘one stop shop’ for companies to bypass any and all environmental protections previously fought for by environmentalists across Aotearoa. It goes a step beyond already existing fast track processes by completely removing the need to apply under multiple environmental protection acts. Projects considered to have regional or national significance are received by the three above ministers, with the minister for Conservation dealing with Wildlife Protection Act approvals, and the minister for the Crown Minerals Act for ‘relevant decisions’. These are then referred to an expert panel for review, which, unsurprisingly, is appointed by these ministers, however the panel’s advice may be disregarded. On top of this, regional council approval is irrelevant. And public opinion? Meaningless. The irony of projects with national significance having no public input is rather jarring.

But there’s a catch. Some projects cannot be fast tracked, such as projects proposed on Māori customary land or marine areas, or land returned under a Treaty settlement. This is excellent news, protecting the land of mana whenua. That is, if the government wasn’t set on heavily restricting customary marine titles for iwi and hapū. The recent move to overturn the foreshore and seabed decision will expose more land to the risk of international money-grabbers, further alienating the voices of mana whenua in important decisions that impact all of us.

This blatant attack on democracy named the Fast Track is an escalation of what some are calling the war on nature. As if our government didn’t already have a bad rap, this act furthers the disregard for our environment, for Te Tiriti o Waitangi and for the future generations of Aotearoa. In their relentless pursuit of profit, this government has discovered yet another route for undermining our voices and rights.

Not only does this act allow environmentally destructive projects to be approved with little research into their impact, but old ‘zombie’ projects shelved due to council rejection or public disapproval can be looked into. The way in which projects are considered will be fundamentally shifted, with concern for the environment shoved aside to make room for economic gain.

The Three Horsemen

So who are the men holding our country’s fragile future in their carelessly clenched fists? Shane Jones, the current minister for Resources and Regional development, has ties to both the fishing and mining industries. He has been under scrutiny for undeclared meetings with mining company managers, passing them off as mere dinners between acquaintances. One would think a minister holding the access keys to Aotearoa’s juiciest mineral deposits might choose his dinners wisely, so as not to seem biased. That must be the nostalgia for real democracy talking. Jones has also attracted the attention of AJR Finance, a generous political donor of $55k to the NZ First party in 2023. It probably has nothing to do with the company’s director’s links to a quarrying company vying for fast track approval.

Let’s not forget the ‘Shane’-ful “goodbye Freddy” nod to the potential for this act to destroy conservation land, when he hammered home the point that not even an endangered ‘blind frog’ would stop companies approved under this act. According to this government, nature does have a price on it. Conservation land, national reserves and protected coastal areas are not being treated as the life-sustaining taonga they are.

Joining him are two other ministers with questionable priorities. Between Simeon Brown’s transport policies being an exercise in how many roads one can build and Chris Bishop’s furtive past as a tobacco lobbyist, it’s no wonder 20,000 people marched in Tāmaki Makaurau recently in June. Ignoring science appears to run rampant in the National party, as Brown has previously been criticised for the decision to reinstate higher speed limits, despite evidence that this increases pedestrian deaths and transport emissions. If it doesn’t have a dollar value, he isn’t interested. 

What’s Next?

This Bill will affect all of us. Directly, our natural spaces, both on and offshore, are under threat. With little to no council and public input, minimal time for comprehensive research on proposed projects, and a disconcerting lack of good intentions, the Fast-track Approvals Act is truly a disaster dressed in blue. Beyond this, this act reverses vital steps taken towards mitigating climate change, at a time when we are already seeing the effects of warming take hold. Even the prospect of hundreds of millions of dollars in damage doesn’t seem to sway these ministers on their relentless pursuit of growth. The idea of future-planning is as alien to them as sitting on a bus.

In the face of such a backwards, morally bankrupt government, we need to keep our eyes on the future, to have hope in these despondent times. The louder our voices are, the further they carry. The government only has as much power as we give them; we can use our votes and our voices to demand justice for our country. We can speak up–write to the Government, to local MPs, to councils, to newspapers, and refuse to be silent about the things that matter to us. We can mobilise - take action against this Bill, defile its image for companies and let them know we want no part of this approvals process. At this moment in time, our environment matters more than any economic gain. As many people have said before, there’s no economy on a dead planet.

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Jenna Kelly