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Fast-track Approvals Bill

Fast-track approval approvals process for eligible projects - Decisions about referral of projects and process of referral - Process after Minister receives referral application

19: Process after joint Ministers receive application Minister invites comments

You could also call this:

“Minister asks for feedback on new projects from important people”

When the Minister gets an application, they must ask for comments from certain people. They will send a copy of the application to local authorities, the Minister for the Environment, other important Ministers, specific Māori groups, and owners of Māori land in the project area. They will ask these people to write their thoughts about it.

Before asking for comments, the Minister will get a list of the Māori groups to contact from the responsible agency.

If the project involves land in a World Heritage Area, the Minister of Conservation must be asked for comments too.

The Minister can also ask any other person for their thoughts on the application if they want to.

Everyone who is asked has 20 working days to send in their written comments after they get the application.

The Minister must think about all the comments they get within those 20 days. If comments come in late, the Minister doesn’t have to look at them, but they can if they want to, as long as they haven’t made a decision yet.

In this part of the law, a World Heritage Area means a special place that’s on the World Heritage List. This list is part of an agreement many countries have signed to protect important cultural and natural places around the world.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS943292.

Topics:
Environment and resources > Town planning
Government and voting > Local councils
Māori affairs > Māori land
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“Minister must follow special rules when deciding about projects”

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19A: Report on Treaty settlements and other obligations, or

“Report explains how Māori interests and Treaty settlements affect a project”

Part 2 Fast-track approval approvals process for eligible projects
Decisions about referral of projects and process of referral: Process after Minister receives referral application

19 Process after joint Ministers receive application Minister invites comments

  1. The Minister must copy the application to, and invite written comments from,—

  2. the relevant local authorities; and
    1. the Minister for the Environment and other relevant portfolio Ministers; and
      1. the Māori groups identified in the list provided to the Minister under subsection (2A) ; and
        1. the owners of Māori land in the project area.

          1. Before the Minister invites comments under subsection (1) , the responsible agency must provide the Minister with a list of the Māori groups referred to in section 19A(2) .

          2. Without limiting subsection (1)(b) , if the project area includes land within a World Heritage Area, the Minister of Conservation is a relevant portfolio Minister under that subsection.

          3. The Minister may also copy the application to, and invite written comments from, any other person.

          4. Anyone who is invited to provide written comments under this section has 20 working days from the receipt of the copy of the application to do so.

          5. The Minister—

          6. must consider any comments received within that time frame:
            1. is not required to consider any comments received after that time frame, but may do so, in the Minister's absolute discretion, as long as the Minister has not already made a decision under section 22A .

              1. In this section,—

                World Heritage Area means a property included in the World Heritage List under paragraph 2 of Article 11 of the World Heritage Convention, as amended from time to time

                  World Heritage Convention means the United Nations Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, done at Paris on 16 November 1972.