Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Fast-track Approvals Act 2024

Fast-track approvals process - Referral of project to fast-track approvals process - Process after Minister receives referral application

17: Minister invites comments

You could also call this:

"The Minister asks for feedback from important groups and people about a project proposal."

Illustration for Fast-track Approvals Act 2024

When the Minister gets a referral application, they must send a copy of it to certain people and ask for their written comments. You might be wondering who these people are - they include local authorities, the Minister for the Environment, and groups that represent Māori. The Minister also sends the application to the owners of Māori land in the area where the project will happen. Before the Minister asks for comments, they need to get a list of Māori groups from the responsible agency, as stated in section 18(2). The Minister will consider comments from people who are invited to provide them, as long as they are received within 20 working days. The Minister must think about comments that arrive on time, but they do not have to think about comments that arrive late, unless they want to, and only if they have not already made a decision under section 21.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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

This page was last updated on

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

Topics:
Māori affairs > Māori landEnvironment and resources > Town planningGovernment and voting > Government departments
Previous

16: Effect of Treaty settlements and other obligations on decision making, or

"How Treaty settlements and other agreements affect decisions on projects"

Next

18: Report on Treaty settlements and other obligations, or

"A report is needed to check how a project affects Māori settlements and rules."

Part 2Fast-track approvals process
Referral of project to fast-track approvals process: Process after Minister receives referral application

17Minister 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 relevant administering agencies; and
        1. the Māori groups identified in the list provided to the Minister under subsection (2); 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 18(2).

            2. Without limiting subsection (1), a local authority must provide comments advising of—

            3. any applications that have been lodged with the local authority that would be competing applications if a substantive application for the project were lodged; and
              1. in relation to any proposed approval of the kind described in section 42(4)(a) (resource consent), any existing resource consents of the kind referred to in section 30(3)(a).

                1. 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.

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

                3. 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.

                4. The Minister—

                5. 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 21.

                    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.

                        Compare