EPA’s Allan Freeth sets record straight on departure

Outgoing Environmental Protection Authority head Allan Freeth. (Image: NZME)

Fri, 07 Nov 2025

The outgoing chief executive of the Environmental Protection Authority, Allan Freeth, says it is wrong to presume he resigned in response to the Government’s latest fast-track changes.“It was bad timing,” he says.Freeth’s intention to step down on June 30 next year – eight months earlier than his contract was due to expire — was announced less than a day after the Government introduced the Fast-Track Approvals Amendment Bill to speed up further the fast-track resource consent process.“There is no connec...

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