Photo: RNZ
A group of more than 20 Wellington students is marching from Victoria University to Parliament in opposition to the Fast Track Approvals bill.
The new legislation is awaiting its third reading, and is expected to pass into law by the end of the year.
Led by Victoria University Students Association and the Climate Action and Resistance club, the group planned to march down The Terrace during rush hour traffic, heading to Parliament.
Nineteen-year-old student and protest organiser Colden Sapir said the bill would allow the government to make decisions about the sustainability of young people's futures without giving them a say.
"The bill will give the green light to seabed mining off the coast of Taranaki, a project that was previously struck down by Aotearoa's Supreme Court.
"Other projects include open-cast coal mines on conservation land, a waste incinerator in Waimate, and doubling the capacity of Auckland prison to put more people in cages."
He said the bill disregarded and undermined the country's democratic processes.
"We need to keep the pressure on politicians to do right by tangata whenua, the environment, and the youth of Aotearoa.
"Politicians continuing to put profit over people will cause young people to inherit a world of climate chaos, and we cannot let that happen. "