Fast-track bill

The fast-track bill advances, raising concerns for tangata whenua and climate activists.

Greenpeace condemns the fast-track bill as a war on nature, warning it harms Māori rights and the environment, with seabed mining and irrigation worsening pollution.

The government is being encouraged to engage with iwi to foster Māori economic development.

The government has outlined the process it followed when conflicts of interest were identified with its Fast-track Approvals bill.

National voters and green groups are lining up behind an iwi call for direct action against would-be seabed miners off the South Taranaki coast.

Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust is celebrating the listing of its projects under new fast-track legislation it had earlier railed against.

Projects announced to come under the fast-track bill have confirmed fears of mana whenua and environmentalists in confirmation of seabed mining in Taranaki.

Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira chief executive Helmut Modlik later told RNZ that concentration of power was “an overreach and dangerous”.

Ministers will no longer have the final say on green-lighting infrastructure projects, as the government announces changes to the Fast-track Approvals Bill.

Te Tai Kaha Māori Collective Chair Kingi Smiler is fearful the government is introducing policies to remove Māori from the equation.