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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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So welcome to our new fast track world. This is
where parliamentarians have been given the right to approve projects
they reckon good for the country. Last night, Chris Bishop
was talking to Ryan on the Drive Show and he
was talking about what they originally had. He referred to
himself and Sibby and Brown and Shane Jones as the troika,

(00:22):
and I had to laugh. Troyker is a Russian word
referring to three parties being a ruling body, and those
three under the original legislation were a ruling body. So
he knew right from the start the remarkable power he
was giving himself. But that power has been watered down
a little bit to stop people using words like Troy
Keep Chris, but anyway, But the underlying concern about the

(00:42):
ultimate power that rests and parliamentarians for making these sorts
of decisions continue because we all know projects that have
been disasters. We all know projects that have contained unintended consequences.
We know projects that have favored investors and not the community.
We're also aware of many projects run by cowboys that
we regretted. We know of suburbs built in flood zones.

(01:04):
We know of dams built in unstable land, various INFI
nightmare is up and down the country, and environmentally affecting
runoffs from industry that have poisoned our waterways. And all
that happened when regulation was in place. But now well,
regulation is still in place, but the ministers and the
parliamentarians get the final word after consultation. I remember talking

(01:29):
to a city planner in Auckland and this guy said,
there's a handful of developers in the city who get
their consents in a month every time. Why because their
application is We're perfect and compliant from the get go.
Many others go back and forth and then start to
complain about the level of red tape as they try
to circumvent the rules. These days, construction costs are worse

(01:53):
than legal costs, so any corners they can cut in
the planning process they will cut. However, like everybody, I
totally understand that we went far too far the other
way and we totally need to be able to progress
and to get stuffed down. So you have to support
the new Act and hope that you know they do
it well. But I would warn the politicians pushing it

(02:14):
that bad decisions will affect your legacy. You don't want
to be the guy who approved the place that actually
ended up breaking down and polluting an entire lake, etc.
Et cetera. Do you now? And I also warn everybody
that politicians and public servants don't have a great track
record so far at picking the right horses. And if
you want an example, how about solar zero and what

(02:37):
happened last week? For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge,
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