NZ Government to ‘Fast Track’ 149 Resource and Energy Projects, Including 2 Coal Mines

When the National/ACT/NZ First coalition government took power in New Zealand last year, one of its first pieces of legislation was a “Fast Track” Bill, which would bypass the usually lengthy process of scrutiny given to new infrastructure developments if they were considered to be in the national interest. As part of that law, a schedule would list projects identified as eligible for the process, and today, the government released that list. Of the 384 bids made by industry during the public application process, 149 have been selected as having “significant regional or national benefits.” Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop claimed the selected projects will rebuild the economy, fix the housing crisis, improve energy security, and address the country’s infrastructure deficit....