Protesters Disrupt 3rd Reading Of Fast-track Bill – 350 Aotearoa

350 Aotearoa has interrupted the third reading of the fast-track bill by dropping banners from the public gallery, highlighting the over 90% of submitters that opposed the fast-track bill. The activists have now been barred from Parliament.

350 spokesperson Adam Currie said the action was not taken lightly.

“We have followed the official process to a tee – filing submissions, waiting patiently to be heard and so on. But it hasn’t worked, and democratic norms have been breached. We may have broken Parliament rules to make a point today, but Christopher Luxon’s government is not following the rules either.”

“Luxon’s government is disrespecting the democratic process by withholding key information from MPs and the public at every stage; incredibly the applications for projects baked into the fast-track bill were only released yesterday; how were MPs supposed to consider applications they hadn’t even seen? They’re disrespecting democracy by barring thousands of submittors from being heard. And they’re disrespecting the process by shutting communities and whānau out of decision-making and robbing them of their appeal rights. We refuse to take this lying down – and extractive projects will never have the social licence to go ahead as we resist them at every turn.”

“The bill ignores Te Tiriti O Waitangi and violates the Tino Rangatiratanga of whānau, hapū and iwi. It would enable projects currently prohibited by local councils, the Environmental Protection Authority or the Supreme Court – such as seabed mining in whale habitats and dumping raw sewage into the moana. The bill would allow coal mines on conservation land and enable an air-polluting waste incinerator project that the council, the school and the community all oppose. Whatever happened to National’s promises of decentralisation? Christopher Luxon’s government is turning a blind eye to the evidence highlighted by the 93% of submitters who opposed the fast-track bill.”

“The fast-track is a blatant attempt to change our national character and core values as New Zealanders – away from care, honesty, and love for the outdoors and towards exploitation, recklessness and a system of exclusion.

”The fast-track bill is anti-democratic, anti-climate, and anti-Te Tiriti. Regardless of the bill passing today, thousands of New Zealanders are ready to stop these projects from being built in our communities,” says Currie.