Govt confirms deep-sea exploration consents won’t require public hearings

Govt confirms deep-sea exploration consents won’t require public hearings
By Pattrick Smellie Feb 27 (BusinessDesk) – Deep-sea oil exploration resource consent applications won’t require public hearings, but will not be automatically ticked through, Environment Minister Amy Adams has announced. The decision over-rides the objections of environmental groups, who wanted all deep-sea drilling to be notified for public input, but which offshore drillers say would add time and complexity that could stifle a low-risk activity. However, exploration applications will be treated as “discretionary” rather than “permitted” a...