Andrew Dickens: Why we need the fast track bill to get stuff done

Welcome to the fast track world, where parliamentarians have been given the right to approve projects they reckon are good for the country. 

Last night Chris Bishop even referred to himself, Simeon Brown and Shane Jones as the troika - a Russian word referring to 3 parties being a ruling body, so even he knew the remarkable power he was giving himself. 

That power has been watered down but the underlying concern remains. 

We all know projects that have been disasters, or contained unintended consequences, or that favoured investors and not the community. 

We’re also aware of so many projects run by cowboys that we have regretted. Suburbs built in flood zones, dams built in unstable land, and various in fill nightmares and runoffs from industry that have poisoned waterways and caused environmental disaster.

And all of that was while more regulation was in place. 

A senior city planner in Auckland is on record as saying there’s a handful of developers who get their consents in a month because their application is word perfect and compliant from the get go, most others go back and forth as they try to circumvent the rules.

These days construction costs are worse than legal costs, so any corners they can cut they will. 

I totally get that we need to progress and get stuff done and so I support the new act. 

But I’d warn the politicians pushing it that bad decisions will affect your legacy and I also warn that politicians and public servants are not geniuses at picking the right horses, and that should be obvious a week after the solar zero debacle.

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