Shane Jones promises rare frogs will no longer stifle growth as fast track bill gets second reading

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones. Photo / Mark Mitchell.

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones said frogs and other wildlife will not be allowed to get in the way of economic development after the Government passed its fast-track consent bill, which began its second reading debate in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.

Jones, one of the bill’s champions, said it would shift the balance between environmental protection and economic development firmly towards the latter.

“We will no longer allow the deification of the environment to stand in the way of jobs and growth.”

He said that no longer would regional jobs be “held ransom or hijacked by random frog or multi-coloured skink”.

Jones attacked the bill’s critics, including critics of iron sand mining, including iwi, saying they should be more concerned about the jobs the fast-track projects will create.

“I will take jobs over surfing for hippies any day,” Jones said.

The fast-track consenting bill was announced by the coalition Government earlier this year. It creates a one-stop shop consenting regime for a select few projects giving them a resource consent and approvals required under other legislation, such as the Wildlife and Conservation Acts. The bill has been hit by controversy as the first tranche of fast-track projects was only revealed in October, and was not subject to select committee scrutiny.

Labour’s environment spokeswoman Rachel Brooking said the bill showed the Government held New Zealand’s constitutional norms in “disdain”.

Brooking said the bill would “leapfrog all our environmental protections” if enacted.

She said the bill did nothing to fix the cost and time it takes to consent medium-sized projects.

“All the talk of how it’s improving the economy and efficiency that’s just not right. All this bill is doing is overriding environmental protections for the good of a few.”

Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.