The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources.

That is not democracy; democracy allows for reasoned discussion and evidenced debate. In short, democracy is about the greater good. Until now, public-interest groups and concerned scientists have – at least in theory – been able to hold immediate-greed to account, and society has developed legal forums for this.

Those groups and scientists have been, by default, the only representation of a much bigger, unrepresented cohort. That cohort is future generations; hopefully many.

Already inadequately represented until now, they stand to be completely unrepresented if this Bill passes into Law. The ‘now’ extraction of one-off resources, including bio-capacity and land-use ones, is theft, from them. Done knowingly; not just theft, but fraud.

Rather than this one-off privatization of New Zealand’s remaining resources by an in-house cohort, we need legislation safeguarding the right of future generations; their rights to resource-access; their rights to a livable planet and country.

© Scoop Media