Trio could authorise killing of protected wildlife
Three government ministers are set to get the power that would allow them to approve the killing of tūi, toroa, tuatara and more, newly released documents about fast-track consenting regime reveal.
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones was in December addressing Parliament about mining in stewardship land in the Department of Conservation estate, when he said, “if there is a mining opportunity and it's impeded by a blind frog, goodbye, Freddy”.
Newly released Ministry for the Environment advice on the Fast Track Approvals Bill shows that the new proposed powers granted to the New Zealand First MP, as well as National MPs Chris Bishop and Simeon Brown, are far more wide-reaching.
The changes mean powers under the Wildlife Act, to grant permission to hold, catch alive, handle, release, “and in some cases kill” absolutely protected wildlife, will be overridden by fast-track consenting – which the three MPs have power to approve.
Absolutely protected wildlife listed by the Department of Conservation includes kiwi, kea, blue duck/whio, tūī, albatross/toroa, tuatara, and the Hochstetter’s
frog/peketua – the latter is earless and voiceless but not blind. The powers extends to all native species classified as wildlife. It also includes basking sharks, manta rays, sea turtles and flax snails.
The fast-track approvals bill, currently working its way through Parliament, is designed to allow fast-tracking of decision-making for infrastructure and development projects that are considered to have significant regional or national benefits. To get fast-track approval, project owners need to apply to the three ministers. It would then be referred to an expert panel, which would make a recommendation to the joint ministers for their final go-no-go call.
Forest and Bird spokesperson Geoff Keey said the legislation was designed to prioritise development over environmental concerns.
“Inevitably, we will see more wildlife killed, more forests cut down, more wet
land destroyed,” he said. The situation was not an unintended consequence as it was almost the intention of the fast-track legislation, he said.
Under existing rules, various pieces of law had to be met including the Wildlife Act, the Resource Management Act, and the Conservation Act.
The director general of conservation has the current power to approve the killing of protected wildlife but, separately, all other pieces of legislation have to be met.
The fast-tracking would give the three minsters – Jones, Brown, and Bishop, with possible input from Conservation Minister Tama Potaka – much greater powers over the lives of native species, with only pro-development legislation to abide by.
Keey doubted there would, in reality, be cases of minsters specifically ordering the death of native animals but they would likely approve the destruction of habitats, “leading to deaths and possibly even extinctions”.
Brown, Bishop, and Jones were approached for comment and asked if there was any absolutely protected wildlife they would not authorise the killing of. None of them replied but Potaka, the Conservation Minister, sent a statement.
It stressed the bill was still at the select committee stage.
“Before making a decision, ministers would receive a report with recommendations from an independent expert panel,” he said.
“They must consider the impacts on ‘at-risk’, ‘threatened’, and ‘data deficient’ species.
“These are categories of threat, as defined in the New Zealand Threat Classification System.
“Before finalising its recommendations, the panel receives a report from the Director-General of the Department of Conservation, which covers the risks to wildlife.”