Now we have The Fast Track Approvals Bill, being pushed through under urgency. It hotwires the nation’s consenting engine to suit a few against the interests of the many. It's depressingly regressive and extremely risky.
As Rod might say: Time to think again!
Yes, our national infrastructure is failing us. The costs of repairs keep rising. But there are many organisations, public and private, with innovations ready to deploy. Ones that will meet climate aspirations, restore thriving natural systems, with respect for Te ao Māori.
The Resource Management Act (RMA) needed a refresh. That’s why so much work had already been done on it. But we must retain the checks and balances in whatever comes next.
Funding mechanisms are essential. But they must align with our nation’s climate and biodiversity aspirations. Get the framework right and we can pull together.
We've learned a lot in recent years. We should build on that, not chuck it out with the bathwater.
The future’s too important to leave to politicians
The climate crisis is deepening. We need to systemically rebuild our natural infrastructure. It has to be capable of withstanding much more frequent extreme weather events. We know that from the traumas of Cyclone Gabrielle last year.
We need to meet the demand for healthy, resilient housing for our people. We need to build out our renewable energy network. It must meet the demands of electrified travel. That will help us meet our greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitments. It will ensure our long-term stability. We'll also need ‘blue and green’ infrastructure. It will help restore waterways and secure healthy water for our landscapes, oceans and people.
That’s a lot to ask. It’s going to take all of us, working together. It can't be about special interest groups pushing separate agendas.
So I’m urging the Government to reconsider.
A system that fails to include communities, NGOs, iwi and hapū in its decision making, and the work, will misshape our future.
What’s now proposed gives significant new powers to just three people. Chris Bishop, the Minister for Housing, Infrastructure, RMA Reform and Sport and Recreation. Simeon Brown, the Minister for Transport, Local Government and Auckland. Shane Jones, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Regional Development and Resources.
None of them are well versed in environmental matters. Shane Jones, particularly, seems to struggle to imagine progress without egregious environmental vandalism.
What we need is a system that will make the space for many minds to create the much needed innovation. Clearly, this innovation is best unlocked by businesses, communities and government agencies working in close collaboration.
That’s what we specialise in at the Sustainable Business Network (SBN). Because of that, including Rod’s tireless work as Head Judge of our Sustainable Business Awards, we get to see the breathtaking ideas emerging all over the country. So much of it is shovel ready for our circular, low emissions and regenerative future. These are the kind of initiatives that should be fast tracked. They don't further compromise the living systems that support our lives. They can be instrumental in rejuvenating them.
In contrast, this blunt force approach simply rehashes the binary arguments I’ve heard all my life. The notion of the all-powerful ‘economy’. Its constant growth. Our well-being conflated with Gross Domestic Product. Spuriously ‘balancing’ that with the destruction of the world around us. Progress vs the planet. Private vs public. Right vs Left. One generation against another.
Its supporters portray it as cutting red tape. But Gary Taylor from the Environmental Defence Society has rightly called it a “war on nature”.
Learning from history – not repeating it
Outgoing Green Party co-leader James Shaw likens the Bill to Muldoon’s ‘Think Big’ projects of the 1970’s. I remember that. The Muldoon Government granting great powers to itself. The angry protests and loss of small towns under the Clyde Dam. A divided nation.
I remember when the Resource Management Act (RMA) arrived. It delivered a streamlined, coordinated and more comprehensive approach to our nation’s environmental management. It set up measures to ensure good democratic process and community input. It connected national and regional planning. Drafted by Labour’s Geoffrey Palmer, it came to life in 1991 under National’s Simon Upton. (Interestingly, he’s currently Commissioner for the Environment.)
At the time I was a student at The University of Auckland. I was studying environmental studies under former Green Party leader Jeanette Fitzsimons. I’m sure she would be furious now. As, I’m sure, was Rod.
The wise know that riding roughshod over local concerns, including environmental issues, is no way to secure our long term future. We didn’t like it with Muldoon. I doubt we will like it now. It’s undemocratic. It bins six years of RMA reforms: odd for a government so outspoken on waste in the ministries.
The Bill pays lip service to respecting Te Tiriti. But its entire tenor and purpose is at odds with it. This nation has come a long way in working in partnership with Māori. But we desperately need to go further, especially in matters of place.
But the Bill’s stated aim is to pave over the landscape faster than ever.
Fast tracks only work with everyone on board
We need a faster track, but that track must address the realities. We need to take everyone with us, not just those with outdated friends in high places.
We don’t need more profit-driven vanity mega projects. Nor politically motivated ‘pork barrel’ boondoggles. We're tired of seeing cash dished to allies, major lobbying groups, or to swing voters in the regions.
We need infrastructure that can be reliably and appropriately funded. We must challenge the ideological unwillingness to tax the richest fairly. We must consider government borrowing as a means to deliver. We have to redistribute wealth much more effectively.
Councils don’t have the money. Only national governments have access to the cheapest credit. The Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund offered one way forward. Among other similar schemes, it shows how to nudge businesses to do the right things. This is especially effective where they don’t fit short term Return on Investment calculations.
Now, more than ever, we need that kind of collaboration.
In my experience, this requires a great deal of mutual trust. Trusting the private sector to innovate. Trusting NGOs to bring ethical integrity and represent the voiceless. Trusting government agencies to think and act with the national systems in mind. To hold the line to protect our national natural treasures. To work with the media to make sure our progress is told well – Rod was always good at that too.
That trust takes time to develop. Time working together.
This is a legacy moment. Facing these common challenges together can unite this country. It can make us a world leader in tackling the greatest issues of our lifetime.
There are no short-cuts to that kind of historic achievement, but it is within our grasp.
Rod saw that. And he helped the rest of us to see it. The most fitting tribute to him, Jeanette and pioneers like them is to get on with the complicated business of making it happen.
Rod Oram was a long standing SBN member, a former member of our Board and helped judge the Sustainable Business Awards for many years. We will pay further tribute to him in a forthcoming article.