Fast-Track Approvals Amendment Bill Passed to Boost Economy and Grocery Competition

Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones have welcomed the passing of the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill.

The Bill will help streamline the Fast-track process, making it more efficient in delivering important projects that will grow the economy, while also promoting greater competition in the supermarket sector, Ms Willis says.

We have heard that standard resource consent processes can hold supermarkets back and tie them up in red tape for years. The Fast-track process will shorten the time required to gain consent to just a few months.

To make it clearer how supermarkets qualify for this express treatment, we are issuing a Government Policy Statement on grocery competition, which accompanies the Bill passed today.

Making it easier for new supermarkets to set up shop is part of our plan to make groceries more affordable for Kiwis.

The Fast-track Approvals Act is generally working well, with six projects already consented and three more expected to have decisions before Christmas, Mr Bishop says.

Over the last few months, expert panels and panel conveners, applicants, government officials, and councils have identified areas where improvements could be made to the Fast-track regime, many of which are reflected in the Bill.

Officials estimate the amendments introduced in this Bill could reduce the combined processing and consideration times by six weeks or more.

Mr Jones says the changes will help Fast-track unlock regional development faster.

Applicants are committing considerable time and resources to projects that will boost regional prosperity. They need to be confident the system is fine-tuned and their applications will progress rapidly and fairly. These changes will help turbo-charge the Fast-track process at a time the regions desperately need jobs and  economic growth.