95bFM Protecting the environment on the Fast Track
13 February, 2026
Interview by Emmanuel Orange, adapted by Sara Mckoy
Forest & Bird regional conservation manager Elvisa van der Leden discusses how changes to the Fast Track Approvals Bill may impact the involvement of environmentalists in project consultation.
This week, Forest & Bird are appealing the approval of a major mining project in Waihi North, which received consent under the Fast Track Approvals Bill for operations to expand until 2043.
The appeal concerns the imprecise conditions for management of the local environment and the scope of approval which poses significant, even fatal, risks to surrounding wildlife.
Following changes to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last December, this appeal is a last chance for community engagement and response to fast-tracked development proposals.
Forest & Bird regional conservation manager for Waikato and Taranaki, Elvisa van der Leden, told 95bFM’s The Wire that the changes reflect a longer term “weakening of environmental protections” in Aotearoa.
“Previously… Forest & Bird was a group that was obligated to be invited for comment and then we became an optional group to be invited for comment and now we're basically cut out of the process altogether…
“So from this point on, it doesn't feel like the system is fit for purpose in terms of protecting communities and nature.”
While National Party MP Ryan Hamilton told 95bFM’s The Wire that the fast-track aims to “minimise the bottlenecks and the bureaucracy behind decision making”, Van der Leden believes the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.
She says that a decrease in funding for the Department of Conservation and its flow-on effects for local conservation groups are “not a good look” for the New Zealand government. These decisions appear as betrayals of the government's commitment to environmental protections and community engagement.
Van der Leden speaks to the seabed mining proposal in the South Taranaki Bight as an example of how community advocacy and campaigning is instrumental in protecting natural environmental interests.
Last week, an expert panel released their draft decision to decline consent to the seabed mining project under the Fast Track Approvals Act.
“This is a really, really positive outcome for the marine ecosystem, a whole ecosystem, whales, reefs that don't have a voice.
“We've all worked together over the last [more than] 10 years to ensure that they are protected from these really destructive seabed mining activities.”
Green Party MP Ricardo Menendez March says the Green Party was also “stoked” about the decision after years of community pressure.
“This should be a wake-up call for corporations seeking to destroy our environment that they cannot just get a free pass to do so”
Legislative amendments to the Fast Track Approvals process are threatening to reduce the role of environmental groups in consultation on development project applications. Despite this, van der Leden says they plan to keep utilising grassroots engagement to ensure there is meaningful protection for te taiao.
“It's quite an uncertain framework that we're now moving into.
“But what I can say is that Forest and Bird and other groups will continue to collaborate and advocate and continue raising awareness across the country of these projects to try and get the best outcome for nature.”
