Fast-track projects: Government told to strengthen ties with iwi in areas like aquaculture

The government is being encouraged to engage with iwi to foster Māori economic development in new aquaculture projects, a briefing shows.

The advice is contained in a briefing paper released on Friday detailing recommendations for projects that have applied for fast-track approval.

Read more: Revealed: All the 300 Fast-Track projects and ministers' conflicts of interest

An advisory group assessed 384 applications "diverse in nature and scale, submitted by a broad range of private, public, and Māori interests, covering all regions", chairperson David Tapsell said.

They covered five sectors, aquaculture and farming, housing and land development, infrastructure, mining and quarrying, and renewable electricity.

Ministers were kept isolated from the decisions and workings of the advisory group.

"This was to ensure that there was no influence from ministers and to allow the advisory group to act independently when making recommendations and completing this report."

Of the 384 applications, the group considered 342 would meet the aim of providing "significant regional or national benefits".

They have nominated 199 to be put into the highest category (2A), another 143 in 2B while 42 projects will not be listed in the Fast Track Bill's schedule.

Some projects had previously attracted controversy in the public domain, the report noted.

The advisory group also said it did not undertake an assessment of the environmental effects of any project - that would be the domain of the expert panel, it said.

It also pointed out that Treaty Settlement obligations and recognised customary rights were the result of direct negotiation between the Crown and iwi over many decades.

Where there was higher impact (and therefore potentially higher risk) for 2A projects, ministers may consider it prudent to seek comment and consult, the advisory group said.

Aquaculture

Twenty-eight projects involved aquaculture.

The current regulatory framework and regional policy settings relevant to aquaculture have acted as either a barrier or significant impediment to development, the briefing said. In some regions aquaculture was permissively enabled, yet tightly constrained or largely prohibited in others.

It said the Fast Track Bill would ease the uncertainty, high cost and risk involved in the current regulations.

The bill also acknowledges the importance of inclusive engagement with iwi. The advisory group's prioritisation of projects has considered those that either enable or partner with iwi to foster Māori economic development.

"Aquaculture initiatives most frequently occur in rohe moana of iwi, and not surprisingly many Iwi applied to fast-track their aquaculture projects. The Bill acknowledges the importance of inclusive engagement with iwi."

Some of the projects involved an overlap between more than one iwi.

The group encouraged ministers "to engage with these iwi applicants to resolve these overlaps so that these development opportunities can be realised as soon as practicable".

Housing and land development

All up, 151 projects were assessed with 118 covering residential, 22 for industrial and commercial and 11 for the tourism sector. Most were in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown.

The report concluded some of those that would help with the government's plans for more housing would enable the creation of "new and innovative housing and land development projects", which would be unlikely to gain approval " as they are rarely contemplated by the existing planning frameworks".

Its recommendations would see about 80,000 new homes built and up to 400 hectares of extra industrial activities.

Nine tourism projects, mostly in Queenstown, have been prioritised with the aim of attracting more high-value tourists.

Infrastructure

Ninety-three applications were assessed, covering transport, marine infrastructure, water infrastructure, public service, public infrastructure and energy infrastructure.

They came from private companies, local government bodies and government agencies.

"The infrastructure sector has the highest percentage of projects given a priority rating of 1 by the advisory group, reflective of the well acknowledged infrastructure deficit we currently have in New Zealand.

"There were stand-out applications of a national benefit scale that included the NZTA Roads of National Significance, major capital projects at Upper North Island ports, freight, and urban transport projects of significant priority in Auckland and a water security project of significant scale in the Hawke's Bay."

Some of them gained favour because they helped grow the value chain for export products or services in the tourism sector.

At a regional level there were a number of public infrastructure projects with wastewater and landfill projects being prevalent.

There were six applications from Health New Zealand for hospital redevelopments which the advisory group said should be a high priority although they weren't placed in its 2A group.

Mining and quarrying

Forty-one projects were assessed involving higher value minerals and coal extraction for export and higher volume quarrying and construction sand processing supplying the domestic market.

The group said the financial benefits of some mining projects ensured they should be a high priority.

Jobs in regions associated with mining and quarrying projects was a significant factor in ranking them.

"Continuity and expansion of employment in regions such as the West Coast would be facilitated by export of mineral resources such as coking coal and mineral ore," the report said.

Renewable electricity

Seventy-one projects were considered, for projects such as wind and solar farms.

The group noted power consumption in New Zealand was expected to rise by more than 50 percent by 2050, so fast-tracking of electricity generation projects within the bill's provisions would assist with economic development, climate change mitigation, resilience and efficient consenting processes.