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October 10, 2024
Tamihere questions Fast-Track project panel
Atereano Mateariki
Posted On October 10, 2024
Download AudioTe Pāti Māori president John Tamihere is critical of the selection process that approved 149 infrastructure, housing, mining, aquaculture, and energy projects under the Fast Track Approvals Bill.
The projects, announced over the weekend, include Trans Tasman Resources’ proposal for an iron sand operation off the Taranaki coast, which the courts have repeatedly denied.
Mr Tamihere questioned the government’s recent addition of a panel of experts, asking, “Who are they?”
“What are their qualifications and integrity? Where are their overt political leanings? And have they ever worked for the mining industry? Have they ever worked for the answer to all these questions is yes, yes and yes. Because it’s such a small environment that we work in. So a number of these so-called ‘expert committees’ will be deeply tainted as the present government, and the decisions that they make will still be able to be judicially reviewed,” says Mr Tamihere.
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