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National MP Vanessa Weenink listens to Richard Capie’s testimony as she absorbs new evidence.
photo: VNP/Phil Smith
This week in Parliament, a petitioner revealed to the Petitions Committee the existence of a fast-track draft bill that predates the formation of the government.
The petition calls on the government to make public which projects will be included in the government’s fast-track legislation.
There is evidence that the bill was sponsored by Shane Jones and already contains items that may overshadow the petition’s concerns about the actual bill.
Petitioner Richard Capi Forest and birdsThe evidence was obtained through an Official Information Act response from National MP Chris Bishop. Bishop’s Official Information Act response included a draft fast-track bill he received from New Zealand First’s Shane Jones during coalition negotiations late last year.
In section 14 of the draft bill submitted to Bishop, entitled “Nationally and Regionally Significant Projects and Other Matters Bill”, there is reference to an “Expert Consent Panel” which “considers listed projects”. Section 14 says these listed projects are described in Schedule 1 to the bill.
Flip through the draft bill until you get to Schedule 1 and you’ll see a large grey box covering half the page. In other words, in the copy Capie received, the list of items in Schedule 1 had been deleted. The reason for this deletion was due to legal privilege held by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (who presumably did not draft the Shane Jones bill).
The last page of the OIA’s response appears to show an abridged list of infrastructure projects proposed for fast-track approval.
photo: supply
The OIA revelations suggest a number of things. A list of potential fast-track projects has been in existence since late last year. The list was drawn up before New Zealand First joined the government, and possibly even before the election. So the inclusion of potential projects may have been part of New Zealand First’s coalition negotiations with National and ACT.
Newsroom Reports It showed that the list included two gold mines and two coal mines.
It would be interesting to compare the list of items cut from Shane Jones’ bill with the list Chris Bishop refused to add to the Fast Track Approval Bill (if those lists were public). Capie suggested to the Petitions Committee that Parliament should investigate this.
“I think the New Zealand Parliament should look at that list of items, should be able to look at the list of items proposed in this draft bill and see where there are overlaps; and ask good questions about the integrity issues involved there.”
The Petitions Committee presides over the petition process in Parliament and makes recommendations to Parliament after considering the relevant petitions.
Capie’s petition was unusual in that it asked the Petitions Committee to ask another committee to do something; no Do something.
Specifically, it requires the Environment Committee to Fast Track Actas it currently omits the timeline listing projects that will immediately enter the Fast Track process.
The government said the list would be added to the bill once the committee reports back to the House. Cappi told members of the petition committee on Thursday that in the interest of transparency, the public should have the opportunity to comment on the list of items before the bill is reported back to the House.
“On Monday, the minister reconfirmed the government’s intention to provide a list of Schedule 2 items once the select committee has completed its deliberations,” Kappi told the committee. “That will effectively deprive the New Zealand public, you and your parliamentary colleagues, of the opportunity to properly scrutinize those items before you are asked to vote on them.”
Richard Cappy from Forest and Bird gave evidence to the Petitions Committee.
photo: VNP/Phil Smith
Jones’ draft bill appears to have been inspired by Labour’s Coronavirus Recovery (Fast Track Consents) Bill 2020, which was used by the previous government to boost economic recovery during the worst of the pandemic. But it is worth noting that unlike the government’s current Fast Track Consents Bill, Labour’s 2020 bill includes In the Beginning Its legislative history.
Petition Process
If you have ever browsed Parliamentary Petitions Pageyou’ll notice there are a lot of these proposals above. No matter how many signatures they get, what the subject is, and what they want Parliament to do, the committee will give them the same consideration.
Of course, these petitions come from New Zealanders from all walks of life who all share a common issue. Joe Bloggs from Timaru might want Council to change the speed limit on a main road, the Shoemakers’ Union might want Council to pay shoemakers more fairly – you get my drift. Ultimately, petitions are another tool for democratic engagement, just like voting or referring to a select committee. Richard Capie advocates for greater transparency in parliamentary scrutiny and public engagement.
“I think New Zealanders have a right to know what’s being considered in their own backyard.”
To listen to Capie’s audio submission, as well as some analysis from The House, click on the link above.
RNZ house – Providing insights into Parliament, legislation and issues; funded by the Office of the Parliamentary Secretary.
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