The Fast-track Approvals Bill, rammed through Parliament like a bulldozer through a native forest, has raised a number of questions about just how much the pockets of coalition politician's are being lined. This isn’t governance; it’s a garage sale of our environment, with corrupt politician's like Shane Jones, Chris Bishop and Simeon Brown holding the cash tin.
Let’s cut to the chase. Companies and shareholders associated with 12 fast-track projects in New Zealand donated more than $500,000 to the National, Act, and NZ First political parties and their candidates in 2022 and 2023. Coincidence? Hardly.
Here's a few of the "donations" from companies associated with the fast-track process:
Fletcher Building: Donated $7,200 to the National Party in 2023 for tickets to a dinner event. Holding company for Fletcher Concrete & Infrastructure, associated with quarry projects in the fast-track process.
Winton Land Limited: Director Christopher Meehan and related entities donated $206,154.23 to National and ACT in 2023, including $103,260 to the National Party and $50,000 to ACT from Meehan personally, and $52,894.23 to the National Party in 2022 from Speargrass Holdings, another company directed by Meehan. Winton’s Sunfield development project in Ardmore, Auckland, is part of the fast-track process.
Vipan Garg: Donated $5,135 to the National Party in 2023.
Winton Land Limited: Director Christopher Meehan donated $103,260 to the National Party and $50,000 to ACT in 2023. Speargrass Holdings, another company directed by Meehan, donated $52,894 to the National Party in 2022. Winton’s Sunfield development project in Ardmore, Auckland, is part of the fast-track process.
Russell Property Group: Donated to the National Party in 2022 and 2023 (specific amounts not detailed). Director Brett Russell also donated $35,000 to the National Party in 2024, 10 days after the fast-track project list was announced. Associated with a fast-track project, though specifics are not fully detailed.
Gibbston Valley Wines: Donated to the National Party (amount not specified). Directors are linked to the Gibbston Valley residential project in the fast-track process.
Sanford: Donated to New Zealand First (amount not specified) in 2024. Associated with aquaculture projects in the fast-track process.
McCallum Bros: Donated to New Zealand First (amount not specified) in 2024. Associated with mining/quarrying projects in the fast-track process.
Kings Quarry: A finance company associated with its director and half-owner donated $50,000 to New Zealand First and $5,000 to Shane Jones in 2023. Included in the fast-track project list.
Last year, RNZ reported:
$500,000 in political donations associated with fast track projects
Companies and shareholders associated with 12 fast-track projects gave more than $500,000 in political donations to National, Act and New Zealand First and their candidates, RNZ analysis shows.
The projects include a quarry extension into conservation land and a development whose owner was publicly supported by National MPs during a legal battle with Kāinga Ora.
This is the kind of money that buys more than a few campaign billboards, it buys influence, access, and, apparently, a free pass to gut environmental protections. The Fast-track Approvals Bill, sold to us as a way to “get things done,” seems to have a hidden clause: “things” include auctioning off our natural heritage to the highest bidder.
On Monday, The Press reported:
Mining company granted exploration permit in Marlborough Sounds
An Australian mining company has been granted an exploration permit for a remote and rugged area of the Marlborough Sounds, sparking concern from residents.
Sams Creek Gold Limited, owned by Siren Gold, sought the five-year permit for an operation named Queen Charlotte, to explore the potential for mining in an area from Endeavour Inlet and Resolution Bay north to Port Gore and Titirangi Farm Park, and includes a section of the renowned Te Araroa Trail.
The land also includes the historic Endeavour mine which was a major source of antimony, a heavy metal used in alloys and electronics, until it closed down in 1901. At the time it was New Zealand’s largest antimony mine.
Siren Gold Limited is connected to Kings Quarry through their shared involvement in the Sams Creek Gold Project in New Zealand. Siren Gold, an exploration company focused on gold and antimony projects, holds an 81.9% interest in Exploration Permit 40338 for the Sams Creek project, with OceanaGold owning the remaining 18.1%.
Kings Quarry, owned by the Semenoff Group and linked to Siren Gold via an unnamed director and half-owner, is associated with this project, as a finance company tied to this director donated $50,000 to New Zealand First and $5,000 to Shane Jones in 2023, coinciding with the project’s inclusion in New Zealand’s fast-track approvals process. Siren Gold’s recent five-year exploration permit (EP 61605) for antimony and gold at Endeavour Inlet in the Marlborough Sounds raises even more questions about political interference in the consenting process.
The coalition’s mantra of “streamlining” is starting to sound like a euphemism for “strip-mining.” This bill, which passed in December 2024, lets ministers green light projects with barely a nod to environmental safeguards or public input. Mining companies, developers, and other big players are lining up for a slice of New Zealand. The 149 projects handpicked for fast-tracking read like a wish list for the government’s corporate mates, not a plan for New Zealand’s future. They want to sell our environment, degrading it into a wasteland that nobody will want to see.
Here's @jacktame grilling Chris Bishop over the new fast-track process that will allow the government to override court decisions that have blocked large-scale projects for environmental reasons: pic.twitter.com/3RLNeCBTqc
— Nick (@StrayDogNZ) March 10, 2024
So why isn’t this front-page news? Why aren’t our media outlets screaming about a government that is running a pay-to-play scheme? Nearly 27,000 public submissions, mostly opposed, and thousands marching in protest should’ve giving the government pause for thought. Instead, we get radio silence while ministers like Shane Jones, Chris Bishop, and Simeon Brown play fast and loose with the taxpayers wallet and our democratic process. The Ombudsman called out the Department of Conservation for unlawfully withholding advice on this bill, yet the coalition just shrugs and carries on. It’s governance by arrogance, with a side order of cronyism.
In May, RNZ reported:
Ministers continue to make decisions on fast-track projects after parties take donations linked to applicants
Ministers Shane Jones and Chris Bishop continued to make decisions about several fast-track projects despite their respective parties receiving donations linked to the applicants.
One political scientist says such donations could be perceived as a conflict of interest and erode public trust in government.
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Political donation data released last week shows NZ First received donations from seafood company Sanford, mining company McCallum Bros and the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust.
National received donations from Russell Property Group and the company's director, Brett Russell. It also received a donation from Gibbston Valley Wines, which has directors linked to the Gibbston Valley residential project. Projects from these companies are included in the Fast-track legislation.
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Shane Jones, a NZ First MP, assessed projects put forward by an advisory group which fell into mining, quarrying and aquaculture. He declared a conflict of interest for eight projects, and stood aside for these. He did not declare a conflict of interest for applications from Sanford, McCallum Bros, or the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust.
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Chris Bishop, a National MP, assessed projects related to housing, land development and infrastructure. He stood aside for one project, the assessment of Winton's Sunfield development as he had advocated for it in the past. He did not stand aside for the assessment of Russell Property Group's Beachlands South, or Gibbston Village.
Let’s not mince words: this is corruption, plain and simple. When donations from companies set to benefit from a bill line up so neatly with its passage, it’s not just a red flag…it’s a flashing neon sign saying "CORRUPTION". The coalition’s claim of “no private benefit” is laughable when the evidence clearly shows otherwise.
New Zealanders deserve better than a corrupt government that treats policy like a commodity. We need transparency, accountability, and a full investigation into these donations. Who paid what, and what did they get in return? If National and NZ First want to “get things done,” they can start by coming clean. Until then, the only thing they’re fast-tracking is public distrust.