Although the process may have been independent of ministers, it appears that the selection of members of the independent advisory group was heavily influenced by ministers and parties, despite the impression many had that appointments would be sought from government agencies.

In March, Bishop’s response to a written parliamentary question submitted by Green Party environment spokesperson Lan Pham said: “Applications to become a member of the advisory group were solicited by relevant government agencies, candidates are expected to have knowledge and experience in/of local government, environment. , infrastructure, economic development, conservation or the Treaty of Waitangi.

Government agencies have proposed a list of 14 names for consideration. Twelve of the 14 candidates were rejected.

Only David Tapsell and David Hunt were nominated by agencies.

“The other members of the advisory group were appointed by ministers and political parties,” Bishop said.

Repeated questions were asked of Bishop’s office about who named which member of the group. His office said he had nothing further to add.

Adam Currie, of climate justice group Aotearoa 350, said official documents showed the majority of people proposed for the group by agencies had been rejected by ministers.

“This government has a history of cherry-picking people from generally independent bodies to try to give them legitimacy for things that they know have not earned legitimacy.”

Currie highlighted the recent revelation that appointees to the Human Rights Commission came from ministers and were not recommended by the hiring committee.

But Bishop told RNZ the fast-track group was selected through the standard Cabinet appointment process.

“It is important to note that this is the standard appointment process. Ministers often seek suggestions for appointments from a variety of sources, including political parties, MPs and ministries.

For Currie, the discovery that almost all government agency nominees were passed over came as a surprise.

“This advisory group was far from being the bare minimum to give legitimacy to the government in the selection of its own projects. We thought there would at least be independent advisors, because the public has no say.

Part of the proposed fast-track legislation is that members of the public do not have the opportunity to submit comments on projects. This also applies to environmental NGOs and community groups.

The government had given the impression that the group would be made up of people, agencies suggested and approved by ministers, Currie said.

“That just wasn’t the case. It is therefore obviously regrettable that ministers directly appoint officials to a supposedly independent group.”

There was no mention of how the group was selected in the press release from Shane Jones of Bishop and NZ First announcing the members.

“People worry about having a lobbyist in the back room, and they worry about their voices being ignored over and over again,” Currie said.

Pham said that, based on Bishop’s responses to her written parliamentary questions, she too expected members to be chosen from agency appointees.

“In government, you expect to be able to take ministers’ responses at their word in good faith,” she said. “I think what we’re seeing with fast-track is that every question can’t actually be taken literally, and there are many layers and even more questions that arise. “

Because ministers went “rogue” and rejected most of the civil servants’ nominations, it was likely the group’s final makeup had knowledge gaps, she said.

“None of the members appear to have worked for organizations or agencies whose primary focus is the environment or conservation.”

None of the members had a background in the hard sciences, which would make it difficult to assess the environmental impacts of the applicants’ proposed mining or quarrying projects, she said.

Bishop should share which ministers and parties nominated which members, Pham said.

“This level of democratic and environmental neutralization is unprecedented. It’s really crazy, and it would be comical if the implications weren’t so incredibly serious. The lack of transparency at every stage of this process has therefore been extremely concerning, and there needs to be many more answers and a much higher level of transparency from this Government and Ministers.

Group members

The group’s chairman, David Tapsell, was nominated by the Ministry of Environment and Te Arawhiti. Documents released under the Official Information Act show it was also suggested by The National’s Tama Potaka.

David Hunt was appointed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Employment.

The other members of the group were appointed by ministers and political parties.

Rosie Mercer was a former member of the independent advisory committee of the Provincial Growth Fund. The fund was part of a coalition agreement between NZ First and the Labor Party.

Vaughan Wilkinson has a background in the fishing industry, having worked at the Sanford and Simunovich fisheries.

Murray Parrish previously worked at Carter Holt Harvey and Oji Fiber Solutions. Documents suggest he asked to be included in the group, which Jones supported.

Town planner Mark Davey was the fourth member of the group proposed by ministers or parties.

When the group was first announced, its lineup attracted criticism from all sides.

Greenpeace spokesperson Juressa Lee (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Rarotonga) described it as loaded with industrial interests.

“This is clearly a case of regulatory capture. An advisory committee made up only of industry representatives means the whole process appears fraught with conflicts of interest and wide open to allegations of corruption.”

A Cabinet document showed conflicts of interest had been identified for each member of the group, but the details had been redacted.

The group recommended that 342 projects be included in the expedited approvals bill. Bishop said this number had been reduced to 149 by Cabinet “to better reflect the ability of expert panels to assess and approve these projects”.

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