Josie Vidal: Straterra chief executive says fast-track list will reap more benefits than environmental problems

Belief the Government's fast-track list will reap more benefits than environmental problems.

The Government's listed 149 projects for its Fast Track Approvals Bill - including nine mining projects.

The Bill still needs to go before the Environment Committee, then each project will be assessed by an expert panel.

Straterra chief executive Josie Vidal told Ryan Bridge the previous system fixated on the environment — but now it considers the economic effects as well.

She says New Zealand needs to rely on science, technology and facts — not emotion.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So one hundred and forty nine projects are set to
be included in the government's Fast Track Approvals Bill. The
majority are for housing, land development, infrastructure, as well as
renewable electricity generation. Eleven mining and eight quarrying projects are
on the list, with the hope it could help with
the government's goal to double the value of mineral exports
by twenty thirty five. Josie Vdal is with US the

(00:21):
Straterra Mining Chief Executive. Josie good morning, Good morning. What
do you say to the naysays the opposition who says
this is going to wreck havoc on our environment.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Well, first of all, I say progress and jobs are good.
Contributing to the global supply chain of minerals everyone needs
is good, and the misinformation about the bill is not
so good. So I suggest that people actually read it
and understand it. The people who are on that list
still have to make an application to the Environmental Protection

(00:55):
Authority and still be assessed under the bill once it passes. Yeah,
we say, you know.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
But the protections are greatly reduced for the environment. Un't that.
I mean the environmental protections under the RMA Conservation Act,
the Wildlife Act. They can be overridden.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
We don't believe that that will happen in mining because
responsible mining and New Zealand still has to meet the
same high standards to be a global player. Basically, there's
so much pressure on companies now to report on their environmental,
social and governance standards. So we're not going to see

(01:34):
standards slip.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
But okay, the trans see if.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
Things happen faster and more efficiency.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
The trans Tasman resources, the Tataranhaky sea bed mining, let's
look at that for example. So you've had a Supreme
Court overturning the consents, You've had the Environment Court involved,
So how can it go ahead if all of those
protections that that have already been looked at are still
in place.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
So what we had before was a system where the
only thing considered for a project was the environment by
a whole lot of people who were very fixated on
the environment. Now we can consider economic and environment, which
is slightly more appropriate.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Okay, which is Josie, because this is the point I
think you're conceding that because we're looking wider than just environment,
there will be some more detrimental environmental impacts, but we're
taking a wider view here, No.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
And I don't think there will be detrimental impacts from
mining because there's been so many years of measuring and
managing them that people have the science behind them. We
have to you know, New Zealand has to rely on
science and technology and facts and evidence, not emotion, and

(02:56):
there's been a high amount of emotion in this argument.
And you know t here done. They've spent millions of
dollars on science to show that what the impact of
the seabed mining they're planning it, and it's pretty.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Low impact, sopies. No species will go extinct like they're claiming.
You know, it's home to thirty species of marine mammals.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
We won't lose any Well, the research in science that
TTR of God suggests that that's a very turbulent part
of the coast and the sea bed is being churned
up all the time anyway. So you know, they have
presented science and they will continue to present science to

(03:39):
the Environmental Protection Authority when they go through their application.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
All right, Josie, thank you very much for your time
this morning, really appreciate it. Just before you go, Josie,
you're expecting any more protests now that this list has
come out because you had those ones on the terrace.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
Well, I think it's unfortunate as I say that people
following what is actually happening and I'm basically making stuff up.
So yeah, they'll probably they will protest because that's what
they do. It's a job for them.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
So fair enough.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, jose thank you, I say, go science.

Speaker 1 (04:15):
Jase, thank you for your time. Really appreciate you getting
up for us this morning. Jose V Deel who is
with Straterra, that's the Mining Association group and one of
their clients is trans Tasman Resources, who are looking at
doing the Tadanhaki Sea bed mining. The benefits, as I
mentioned earlier, a billion dollars in export receipts per year,
two hundred and fifty million dollars in royal who's in tax,

(04:36):
and an estimated wealth boost of one hundred and fifty
billion dollars over the lifetime of the project.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
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Speaker 1 (04:44):
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