The Fast-track Approvals Bill marks the fourth attempt by Trans Tasman Resources to mine sand off the Taranaki coast.

The Government announced that 149 out of nearly 400 projects, including TTR’s proposal for a 65.76 square kilometre operation near the Kupe oil rig, are now included in the bill.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngārewa-Packer says the Government is flexing its legislative power to gamble on an experimental sector that has repeatedly failed in the courts.

“It has failed to meet the thresholds of every court in Aotearoa, and yet the Government, with no experience and absolute, economically focused ministers, has put this on their fast-track projects list. So, it is frightening to be really honest for us living on the ground; it just shows how prepared they are to create environmental devastation at our cost,” she says.

Debbie Ngārewa-Packer says iwi in south Taranaki are prepared to hop on their boats and protest against this.

Currently, the bill is with the Environmental Select Committee and is expected to report back to Parliament next week.