Nau mai, haere mai.

The need for more efficient development is so urgent in New Zealand, apparently, that a bespoke “fast-track approvals” law is needed. And yet, three days out from the close of submissions on that proposed legislation, we have no idea which projects might qualify.

This is curious, given the power said law would place in the hands of a few ministers, who will be able to circumvent current resource planning processes to expedite consents. In the name of short-term economic gain, critics fear, hard-won environmental checks and balances will be sidelined.

Writing about the potential risks, professor of ecology Margaret Stanley outlines five broad reasons why we might want to slow down that fast-track train. Chief among these, she says, is just how fragile New Zealand’s unique ecosystems are already.

Just a few examples of the statistics she cites are enough to give pause: only 22% of Aotearoa’s original vegetation remains; 90% of our wetlands have been lost, as well as 80% of our active sand dune ecosystems; 46% of lakes over one hectare are in poor or very poor ecological health.

It goes on, and none of it is heartening. “Talk of a ‘crisis’ can be unhelpful if it encourages a sense of hopelessness,” says Stanley. “But with the government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill approaching rapidly, now is arguably the time to use the word.”

Ultimately, she argues, the environment that underpins all human activity and wellbeing is under real stress. “By emphasising short-term economic gain, [the bill] risks eroding the country’s already fragile natural capital and pushing biodiversity further into decline.”