On Sunday, the list of projects selected for fast tracking under a controversial proposed law was released. The Spinoff takes a look at the numbers.
The Fast-track Approval Bill is a proposed new law that would change the process of getting approval for major projects with national significance. Instead of going through resource consenting, which notably includes the consideration of the environmental impact of a project, certain pieces of infrastructure can be selected by the government for a more streamlined process.
Initially, just three ministers were to have the final say over which projects went ahead. This was highly controversial, with tens of thousands of people joining a “March for Nature” in June to protest the environmental impact the bill could have. However, Chris Bishop announced in August that the process would be changed, with the minister for infrastructure – a portfolio he currently holds – instead referring projects to an independent panel for final approval. “These expert panels will include members with technical expertise relevant to a project, expertise in environmental matters (and where relevant, conservation), and the Treaty of Waitangi,” said Bishop in a press release.
On Sunday, the government announced the 149 projects that had been selected for inclusion in the fast-track bill, out of at least 384 applications. Among them are 19 mining and quarrying projects, which have been a particular focus for regional development minister Shane Jones’s “culture war” and aggression towards amphibians.
The details released about these projects are jam-packed with stats and figures. We’ve selected some of the most interesting ones, and broken down what they mean.
55,000 houses
According to the government, the housing projects included in the bill will create 55,000 more houses around New Zealand. The projects include a papakāinga beside Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae’s marae in the West Coast, 200 residences in Havelock North, 100 affordable rental units north of Kaikohe in Northland and 4,000 to 4,500 housing units on the Carrington Road campus of Mount Albert in Auckland.
15 roading projects
Government transport agency Waka Kotahi is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the list of fast-track projects. All these projects are for upgrades to state highways and motorways to benefit private motorists, with the only nod to public transport being a rapid transit bus corridor in Auckland for the northwest motorway and connecting roads. Reducing travel times is cited as a reason for these projects but it’s not entirely clear how many seconds that refers to. Kiwirail, by contrast, has had just four projects fast-tracked for upgrades to the rail network.
1,200 prisoners
The capacity of Auckland Prison (Pāremoremo) will be almost doubled, from the current 681 to 1,200, in a proposal included in the fast-track bill despite Corrections saying there were “no immediate plans” to expand the prison. The prison population is predicted to increase in coming years in line with the government’s tough law and order policies.
11 bridges
Eleven bridges are included in the projects list, including a second bridge across the Ashburton River after flooding in 2023 closed the existing bridge, which is now back in operation. Additionally, three or four bridges will be upgraded as part of the Hawke’s Bay Expressway project.
3 gigawatts
The amount of additional generation capacity the 22 renewable energy projects will contribute, if they’re all consented.
28 projects in Auckland
The area of the country with the biggest population also had the most projects selected, while only one was chosen in Gisborne and one in Marlborough. The number of projects doesn’t correlate perfectly to population centres: Wellington and Northland both had 11 projects, while Otago had 15.
50,000+ people
The capacity of the redeveloped Eden Park stadium project included in the bill.
365,000 tonnes of waste
One of the 22 projects selected in the Canterbury region is Project Kea, an incinerator that will generate energy by burning rubbish destined for landfill. The environmental benefits of this project, which would be the first of its kind in New Zealand, are debated; while it would use less land than a standard landfill, it would also require up to 2,500 tonnes of water a day and produce thousands of tonnes of ash as a waste product.
“The incinerator will burn 365,000 tonnes of material each year including materials that are recyclable, reusable and compostable,” said Sue Coutts, a spokesperson for the Zero Waste Network Aotearoa, of the Canterbury incinerator. “Cutting through ‘red and green tape’ doesn’t make economic or practical sense if it leaves us with a legacy of contaminated sites, land and water pollution and communities afflicted with long term health problems and cost obligations.”
15 iwi-led or partnered projects
Including the Tainui Group Holdings Ruakura Tūmata development in Hamilton, marine farms by Te Aupouri Fisheries Management Limited and Ngāi Tahu, and a solar farm by the Tauhara North No.2 Trust. Māori development minister Tama Potaka says they will “help supercharge the Māori economy”.
11.7 hectares
The amount of coastal marine area that will be reclaimed for a proposed new berth and container terminal at Northport in Northland.
53 million cubic metres of water
Two Canterbury projects will increase water storage facilities for irrigation use in the region, including the Klondyke water storage project, which would be able to store up to 53 million cubic metres of it. Minister for regional development Shane Jones explicitly welcomed irrigation and water storage applications. As with approvals for new roading projects and new courthouses and bigger prisons, these approvals are in keeping with National’s 2023 campaign promise to reduce regulation around water taken from rivers for irrigation, which was supported by industry group Federated Farmers. There are concerns over the extent to which irrigation, especially in drier areas with intensive dairy farming like Canterbury, depletes rivers and water quality.
40 years of an open-pit gold mine
One of the 19 mining and quarrying projects to be selected for the fast-track bill is the Bendigo-Ophir Gold project for a 251 hectare open-pit gold mine in Otago. The project, which would open a mine near Queenstown, is owned by NZX-listed company Santana Minerals, and there are estimates that it could make $4.4bn of revenue in a decade. However, many people are worried that having heavy industry near the vital Clutha River could be damaging to the tourist hotspot’s environment. At any rate, if the mine is built, it will be a feature of life for generations; the pit wouldn’t close, and the environment wouldn’t be remediated, until 2065.
35 years of sand mining at Bream Bay
Another long-term, controversial mining project is sand mining in Northland’s Bream Bay. Auckland Council and the Environment Court have already refused permission for the McCallum Brothers mining company to excavate Pākiri Beach north of Auckland but the company has been selected for fast-track approval to take sand from Bream Bay for the next 35 years. “Bream Bay, like Mangawhai and Pākiri, is home to some of our most vulnerable species, including the critically endangered tara iti (New Zealand fairy tern). Approving sand mining here is not only environmentally destructive but a betrayal of the communities who have fought to protect these areas for decades,” said Natalie Jessup, general manager of the Endangered Species Foundation, in a press release.
30 species of marine mammals
The South Taranaki Bight, where an Australian mining company’s project will extract 50 million tonnes of seabed material a year, is home to 30 species of marine mammals, including blue whales and Māui’s dolphins, according to Forest & Bird. The Supreme Court overturned consents to mine the area in 2021.