The Government has outlined the process it followed when conflicts of interest were identified with its Fast-track Approvals bill. 

An independent advisory group was set up to assess the 384 projects that applied to be listed in the bill, which will pass through Parliament by the end of the year. 

The group provided recommendations on each project, which was then assessed by ministers Chris Bishop, Shane Jones and Simeon Brown, who compiled a list of 149 to put before Cabinet, which were approved. 

The full report from the advisory group has now been published by the Ministry for the Environment. 

On Sunday, Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop released the list of projects that would be considered as part of the bill, which took into consideration capacity from expert panels who will be required to assess each project before it was given the green light. 

“The makeup of the final list is not a reflection of the quality of projects which weren’t chosen in the end, nor is it a sign that any future application to the Fast-track process for these projects would be unsuccessful,” Bishop said. 

The Government has faced criticism from opponents of the legislation that ministers had not been forthcoming about potential or actual conflicts of interest when choosing the projects to go ahead. 

Bishop has responded to that criticism today by releasing the projects he and his colleagues had conflicts with and the process that was used to manage them. 

Each minister assessed the 384 projects that related to the sectors they have ministerial responsibility for. 

Bishop was charged with housing, land development, and infrastructure, Brown took transport and energy, while Jones considered mining, quarrying and aquaculture farming projects. 

During that process, Jones identified conflicts with eight projects and consideration of those was transferred to Tama Potaka. 

Those projects were: 

• Te Aupouri Fisheries Management Ltd 
• James Murray Aquaculture Ltd 
• Taharoa Ironsands Ltd (3 projects) 
• Kings Quarry Ltd 
• Katikati Quarries Ltd 
• Matamata Metal Supplies 

Bishop had one conflict of interest that was transferred to Brown. 

“I identified one project with a potential conflict of interest because of a possible perception of having publicly advocated for it previously, and out of an abundance of caution I transferred the decision to Minister Brown. That project was Winton Land Ltd’s Sunfield development in Auckland,” he said. 

Transfers were only required if conflicts of interest were identified in relation to projects for which the minister had sector responsibility. 

“Once delegated ministers had made decisions, the final list of projects was considered by Cabinet committee and Cabinet. Ahead of those meetings, ministers reviewed their interests and declared any conflicts of interest in relation to any of the listed projects,” Bishop said. 

“Ministers who declared an interest with a particular project left the room for any discussion at Cabinet committee or Cabinet relating to that project.” 

Announcing the 149 projects on Sunday, Bishop said they would help rebuild the economy, fix the housing crisis, improve energy security and address the country’s infrastructure deficit. 

“It’s about getting NZ moving and cutting through the red tape. 

“It’s about jobs and growth.” 

- Jo Moir, RNZ