10 Dec: 350 Aotearoa says the Government's amendments announced today to their Fast-track Approvals Bill are “like a red rag to a bill”. The 241-page amendment paper was published just hours before MPs are scheduled to enter Committee of the Whole House.

The climate justice organisation is concerned the last-minute amendments pose significant risk for Aotearoa’s environment, Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations, and democratic processes. The amendments, designed to accelerate infrastructure development, fail to strike the critical balance between progress and protection.

“Bishop’s amendments put Aotearoa’s most precious ecosystems on the chopping block,” said Adam Currie, 350 Aotearoa Campaigner. “Allowing electricity projects and mining activities in high-value conservation areas is like pulling bricks out of the foundation of a house—eventually, the whole structure collapses.”

The changes open the door to development in conservation lands and subsurface mining activities without adequate protections. “The Government cannot fast-track nature's recovery from damage caused by shortsighted decisions. Once these areas are gone, they’re gone for good.”

The amendments also risk undermining Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles by enabling compulsory land acquisition and subsurface mining without sufficient consultation with tangata whenua. While financial contributions to Māori groups are mentioned, this token gesture fails to address the deeper issues of consent and rangatiratanga.

“The MBIE supplementary analysis states that “It was not possible to engage widely with iwi/Māori on these proposals” - and the bill still does not mention Te Tiriti O Waitangi, and undermines the tino rangatiratanga of settled and unsettled whānau, hapū and iwi. This is yet another attack on Te Tiriti, just weeks after the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived at Parliament,” says Currie.

Restricting appeal rights to a select group while limiting judicial review to a rushed 20-day timeframe cuts the public and affected communities out of the process. “These amendments turn a vital process of accountability into a race against the clock, leaving communities with no voice and no recourse.”

350 Aotearoa argues that the Government is failing to balance development with environmental, te Tiriti, and democratic protections. Currie states “The Government’s fast-track agenda is like trying to sprint on a tightrope—it’s reckless, it’s dangerous - and it’s bound to fail.”

“Tabling a 241-page amendment paper just hours before MPs are due to debate the bill is worse than a joke - it’s a deliberate flaunting of the democratic process. Progress isn’t about speed - it’s about integrity, sustainability and equity - three things the government’s process completely lacks”, concludes Currie.

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