Labour welcomes news that the National Government is backing down on its reckless proposal to give Ministers final sign-off on significant projects, but it’s still not enough.

“After months of campaigning and marching in the streets with thousands of concerned New Zealanders, we are glad to see the Government finally buckle over the powers it was giving to its Ministers,” environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said.

“In February, I called out this Bill for its ‘Muldoonist’ overtones and have since continued calling, alongside our environmental community, for the Bill to be overhauled.

“It’s a small win for the campaign – but the fight is not over.

“The fact remains, the Bill still overrides the laws that protect our environment and poses a great risk to our natural taonga, like our pristine waterways and forestland.

“All this means is that a panel will now fulfil the tall order of facilitating reportedly 384 unknown projects, whilst ignoring environmental safeguards.

“We’ve already heard about a secret list of companies shoulder-tapped to apply for fast-track consents, which concerningly includes those who’ve donated to the three coalition parties. We could be seeing the revival of mining projects, like coal mines, that have already been previously ruled out for the harm they pose.

“Labour’s fast-track laws didn’t override underlying environmental protections. National wants to pollute its way to prosperity, valuing the extra dollar at the detriment of our native species.

“It shouldn’t have been a debate to begin with and with this news, National has effectively conceded that they know what it’s doing is wrong, but that profit comes first.

“National must listen to the countless environmental groups, experts and iwi that say they don’t want this Bill out of fear for the damage it will cause.

“We can certainly have a process that speeds up decision-making for projects, but it must adhere to the standards required by existing laws – they’re there for a reason,” Rachel Brooking said.