Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Andrew Dickens: Why we need the fast track bill to get stuff done

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Andrew Dickens: Why we need the fast track bill to get stuff done · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: So welcome to our new fast track world. This is
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: where parliamentarians have been given the right to approve projects
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: they reckon good for the country. Last night, Chris Bishop
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: was talking to Ryan on the Drive Show and he
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: was talking about what they originally had. He referred to
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: himself and Sibby and Brown and Shane Jones as the troika,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: and I had to laugh. Troyker is a Russian word
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: referring to three parties being a ruling body, and those
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: three under the original legislation were a ruling body. So
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: he knew right from the start the remarkable power he
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: was giving himself. But that power has been watered down
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: a little bit to stop people using words like Troy
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  Speaker 1: Keep Chris, but anyway, But the underlying concern about the
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: ultimate power that rests and parliamentarians for making these sorts
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  Speaker 1: of decisions continue because we all know projects that have
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: been disasters. We all know projects that have contained unintended consequences.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: We know projects that have favored investors and not the community.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: We're also aware of many projects run by cowboys that
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: we regretted. We know of suburbs built in flood zones.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: We know of dams built in unstable land, various INFI
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: nightmare is up and down the country, and environmentally affecting
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: runoffs from industry that have poisoned our waterways. And all
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: that happened when regulation was in place. But now well,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: regulation is still in place, but the ministers and the
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: parliamentarians get the final word after consultation. I remember talking
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: to a city planner in Auckland and this guy said,
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: there's a handful of developers in the city who get
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: their consents in a month every time. Why because their
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: application is We're perfect and compliant from the get go.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Many others go back and forth and then start to
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  Speaker 1: complain about the level of red tape as they try
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: to circumvent the rules. These days, construction costs are worse
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: than legal costs, so any corners they can cut in
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: the planning process they will cut. However, like everybody, I
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: totally understand that we went far too far the other
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  Speaker 1: way and we totally need to be able to progress
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  Speaker 1: and to get stuffed down. So you have to support
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: the new Act and hope that you know they do
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: it well. But I would warn the politicians pushing it
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  Speaker 1: that bad decisions will affect your legacy. You don't want
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: to be the guy who approved the place that actually
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: ended up breaking down and polluting an entire lake, etc.
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  Speaker 1: Et cetera. Do you now? And I also warn everybody
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: that politicians and public servants don't have a great track
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: record so far at picking the right horses. And if
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: you want an example, how about solar zero and what
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: happened last week? For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge,
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: listen live to News Talks it be from five am weekdays,
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.