Fast-track consenting faces familiar speed bumps, does slow and steady win?

Regional development minister Shane Jones proclaimed Freddy the frog's imminent demise - if it got in the way of development. (Image: NZME)

Dileepa Fonseka

Fri, 12 Apr 2024

Freddy the frog will be glad to hear he still has a few months left on the clock.Regional development minister Shane Jones once said it would be “goodbye Freddy” if a blind frog ended up in the path of a mining development, this and other rhetoric around the fast-track legislation prompted fears it would put a large amount of power in the hands of ministers.Companies scrambled to get their projects included in the list after expressions of interest were called for in February.In the end, the process does not look like it will be muc...

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