11. Question No. 11—RMA ReformHon JAMES SHAW (Co-Leader—Green) to the Minister responsible for RMA ReformQuestion No. 11—RMA Reform11. Hon JAMES SHAW (Co-Leader—Green) to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: Does he stand by his statement in relation to the Government's proposed approach to fast-track consenting that This is not new by the way because the COVID fast-track legislation also listed projects in the legislation and also set up a process for Ministers to refer projects to an expert consenting panel"?Hon CHRIS BISHOP (Minister responsible for RMA Reform): Yes.Hon James Shaw: Can he confirm that a fundamental difference to the COVID-19 fast-track legislation is that under the proposed new legislation the ultimate power to approve listed projects will lie with Ministers rather than with an expert consenting panel?Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Well final design parameters of the scheme are yet to be confirmed by Cabinet and when the bill is ready for tabling and release it will be done.Hon James Shaw: Is he concerned that granting Ministers the power to fast track consents for projects including those that have previously been declined under the existing COVID legislation because of environmental risk is in the words of the CEO of the Environmental Defence Society "a return to the use of unbridled executive power [that] we thought we'd left behind."?Hon CHRIS BISHOP: No and I'm not going to take lectures from Gary Taylor around what we should or shouldn't do in this country. What I am concerned about in this country is that the time it's taken to consent major infrastructure has doubled in the last five years and we now spend as a country—Hon David Parker: That's not true. It's not true.Hon CHRIS BISHOP: It is true.Hon David Parker: Fast track sped it up.Hon CHRIS BISHOP: I'm quoting a report from an entity set up by the last Government the Infrastructure Commission. So the member might want to say it's not true but it's a publicly available report from Sense Partners. What I am concerned about is that we spend $1.3 billion a year in this country consenting infrastructure—by most measures some of the most expensive consenting processes in the developed world. I want more renewable energy in this country and I want to build roads for the future and public transport projects but it is near impossible to do things expeditiously efficiently and in a cost-effective way because of the Resource Management Act. We're going to fix it.Hon James Shaw: Can he confirm that there are no fewer than 59 projects currently proposed for inclusion in the primary legislation?Hon CHRIS BISHOP: I think it's actually more than 59 to be honest because we are looking at a vast array of projects and the precise list and exactly how those processes work with the process we're setting up will be a decision for Cabinet and it's not too far away.Hon Shane Jones: Can the Minister confirm during that brief period of enlightenment when the earlier bill was passed that there were actual projects in the bill that were consented by Parliament?Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Yes indeed I can confirm that there were 17 listed projects in the COVID fast-track bill passed by the last Parliament: Te Ara Tupua the Ngauranga to Petone shared path; the Wellington metro upgrade; Papakura to Pukekohe rail electrification which I know the Hon Judith Collins is a big fan of; Britomart station eastern upgrade; Unitec Residential Development; Papakura to Drury South State Highway 1 improvements; a water storage reservoir in Kaikohe; the Queenstown Arterials Project; and a papa kāinga development in Kaitāia—more housing up Far North which everyone supports. In fact there are six papa kāinga developments on this list. A whole range of proposals were supported by the previous Government and we are adopting a similar procedure with this fast-track legislation and going further and faster to make sure we can get stuff done in this country.Hon James Shaw: Will he rule out including the Te Kuha coal mine in the list of projects to be approved in the primary legislation?Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Well decisions as to what projects will be included in the legislation are matters for Cabinet.Hon James Shaw: So given the extraordinary powers that have been granted to Ministers in this legislation what measures is he taking to ensure that the list of projects that Ministers approve for inclusion in the legislation are not connected to people or organisations that are significant donors to coalition parties?Rt Hon Winston Peters: Point of order.SPEAKER: Hang on a minute. Wait on. Just reword the question because you can't put an inference in a question like that.Hon James Shaw: Point of order Mr Speaker. I wasn't inferring; I was asking the Minister who is responsible for drafting the legislation given that this legislation grants extraordinary powers that we haven't seen in four decades to Ministers to personally improve projects—I'm asking what measures he's looking at to ensure that there is accountability. I mean that—SPEAKER: Well the problem is the Hon James Shaw that the Minister started his answer by saying that the bill is not yet in a form that anything could be asserted against it.Hon James Shaw: And that's my point—that in the design stage of the legislation surely it is incumbent upon the Minister at that point rather than after the legislation has been drafted to ensure that there are appropriate checks and balances.SPEAKER: All I'm saying is have another crack at asking the question in a slightly different way.Hon James Shaw: Thank you Mr Speaker. Well can the Minister given the extraordinary powers that are being granted to Ministers to approve projects in the primary legislation without the ability of an expert consenting panel to decline those projects—what measures is he taking to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest?Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Well there are a variety of hypotheses in that question which may or may not turn out to be true. The member will have to wait for the final design of the fast-track procedure but as I've said twice now in response to previous questions there are a variety of mechanisms through the Cabinet process and the parliamentary process and electoral law processes designed to make sure that the type of implications that the member is making are handled appropriately."