New fast-track legislation could speed up seabed mining project

Thursday, 13 November 2025

A short window of public consultation is about to close on the proposed Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill which could speed up the approval process for seabed mining off the Taranaki coast.

Submissions on the bill close on Friday after it went through its first reading last week.

About 130 tweaks and changes to the consenting regime are set out in the bill, which the Government hopes to push through Parliament before Christmas.

Public hearings will take place in the week starting November 26, with the select committee reporting back on the bill by December 5.

Changes from the original fast-track legislation include tweaks to the right for expert panels to decide who they should hear evidence from.

The changes would also effectively remove the right for environmental groups to appeal consents to the High Court on points of law and – arguably – undermining the independence of the Environmental Protection Authority in providing advice on consents.

The proposal would also speed up the process further, making panels hearing submissions on projects decide an outcome within 60 days.

The proposed changes have been welcomed by supporters of the Trans-Tasman Resources seabed mining project in the South Taranaki Bight and condemned by opposition groups like Kiwis Against Seabed Mining and Greenpeace.

Backers of the seabed mining project plan to extract up to 50 million tonnes of seabed material annually over a 20-year period, removing up to 5m tonnes of iron-ore and vanadium-rich concentrate and returning 45m tonnes of material to the seabed.

Trans-Tasman Resources shareholder Philip Brown welcomed changes to the bill in his submission while also urging the Government to take them further.

“I believe there remains a gap in the legislation where strategically significant projects – particularly those involving critical-mineral resources – could be declined by an expert panel despite their clear national-interest value,” he said.

He wanted the bill to include a provision enabling Cabinet or the responsible ministers, to override or reconsider an expert panel’s recommendation where the project was deemed strategically important to New Zealand and advance national interests beyond purely economic metrics while supporting critical-mineral supply security for partner nations.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace issued a media release branding the proposed changes a “savage escalation” of the Government’s war on nature.

“It is absurd, and dangerous, to expect these panels to make sound decisions on massive, high-risk projects, like mines on conservation land, in just 60 working days,” Greenpeace campaigner Gen Toop said.

“This bill makes it clear that the Luxon Government is on a reckless rampage that risks turning Aotearoa into an industrial wasteland to be used and abused by foreign mining giants.”

Kiwis Against Seabed Mining has urged its supporters to make submissions on the bill.

“This shady bill would strip away public voices and hand power to ministers who could push through seabed mining and other destructive projects,” it said online.

“It's a straight up power grab.”