The Government should consider the outcome of an Auditor-General report into conflicts of interest before progressing the Fast track Approvals Bill through Parliament.

“We welcome this inquiry, and call on the Government to wait until the Auditor-General reports back before going to committee stage where 149 projects will be added to the Bill and further progressed through the House,” Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said.

“The 149 companies who have projects on the fast track list get an enormous advantage by not having to comply with current laws that protect the environment.

“The public must have confidence the decision to put projects on the list was not made because a minister had a vested interest in it.

“We’ve shown that coalition parties received donations from companies such as Winton and Kings Quarry to name just two, whose projects made it on to the list.

“It’s also concerning that some of the projects on the list have been previously declined because the impact on the environment is too great.

“The whole process around the Fast Track Approvals Bill has been murky. The projects were kept secret, ministers initially would have had the power to override conditions put on projects by an expert panel, and Shane Jones wouldn’t come clean about a meeting he had with mining interests on the West Coast.

“Hopefully the Auditor-General’s inquiry can bring some sunlight to this situation,” Rachel Brooking said.

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