Shane Jones says the fast-track isn’t fast enough. Chris Bishop says it's ‘going well’

Wednesday, 20 August 2025

Resources Minister Shane Jones is not happy about the fast-track regime’s perceived lack of speed. But Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop thinks it is “going well”.

Six months after the fast-track programme invited applications for projects wanting the benefit of its one-stop consenting shop, the architects of the contentious scheme are somewhat at odds.

Bishop is now looking at “improvements”, yet sounds lukewarm on whether changes are needed.

“Fast-track’s going well … I'm pretty, pretty comfortable with how it's going so far,” he said, on Tuesday.

The Government has been pointing to the fast-track scheme, which has previously sparked outrage and protest, as an example of its efforts to reignite a sluggish economy.

So far, one project has been provisionally fast-tracked, the construction and extension of wharfs for cruise ships, in Auckland.

Another 19 applications - mining operations, solar power schemes, housing developments - are listed as “in progress”.

Bishop said he was taking advice on possible legislation change and remained “open to improvements”.

“Let's be clear, it started in March, we're now in August, so we're sort of four or five months into it, and projects are working their way through. So [I’m] always open to improvement. But I think it's going pretty well.”

Jones was less encouraged on Tuesday.

“Fast means pace, acceleration.

“It's important that we work together, but at the same time, the coalition agreement did use the word ‘fast-track’ and fast, as I said, it’s got to be expeditious.

“I've always been a bit more of an impatient bloke. Look Chris and the team, they're a few years younger than me. I'm 65, I've been around a lot longer than the vast majority of the Cabinet ministers, and I know that unless you keep pressure on the system, you get drift.”

He had asked Bishop for a meeting with the fast-track conveners, who were appointed by the Government to appoint the panels which consider fast-track applications.

Jones said he was “disappointed” to see associate panel convener Jennifer Caldwell describe an applicant - Trans-Tasman Resources which is seeking to mine the South Taranaki seabed - as “cynical”.

In a minute, Caldwell had described the applicant as having a “somewhat cynical expectation” about the project’s opponents.

“Cynical is a word that's political. I don't think it's appropriate for a legal officer to use that term, and I want to understand why that type of language should be creeping into what are administrative processes,” Jones said.