Forest and Bird says the Government is naïve if it thinks it is going to push through projects against the will of the people.
The organisation made its submission yesterday to the environment select committee considering the Fast Track Approvals Bill.
Chief executive Nicola Toki says examples include West Coast coal mining and Trans Tasman Resources’ plan to mine the seabed off South Taranaki, which iwi, environmental groups and the fishing industry have been fighting for years.
“It’s really disappointing and it’s a little bit naïve for this Government to think that New Zealanders will accept that. We came out in our tens of thousands in 2010 when the Government of the day wanted to mine in national parks and in our view this is going to happen again,” she says.
Ms Toki says while the Bill allows for projects to be referred back to Conservation Minister Tama Potaka, the final decisions will be made by three ministers who have no obligations to consider the environment.
