National, ACT, and NZ First: Using the Trump Playbook to Gut our Environment
The Destruction of Our Green Image
By Dr Harpreet Singh | drhsinghnz.substack.com | FB: @DrHSinghNZ | BSky: @DrHSinghNZ | IG: @DrHSinghNZ
Author’s note: The National, ACT, and New Zealand First coalition is using the Fast Track Approvals Act to bulldoze environmental protections, echoing the Trump administration’s hostility to regulation. By sidelining scrutiny and public input, the government is putting corporate and extractive interests ahead of land, water, climate, and democratic accountability.
The New Zealand Government is following a plan similar to the one used by the Trump administration to cut back on environmental rules. By passing the Fast Track Approvals Act, the government has created a way for big building and mining projects to skip the usual checks that protect our land and water. This makes nature protection seem like a simple roadblock rather than a way to keep our environment healthy.
Politicians are now calling our current laws a culture of no to justify these major changes. This is the exact same language used in the United States to claim that environmental rules are being used as a weapon against economic growth. Instead of looking after the environment, the focus is shifting toward giving more power to property owners and making it easier for industries like mining to use natural resources.
One of the biggest worries is how much power is being handed directly to government ministers. They now get to pick which projects get the green light based on what they think is best for the economy. At the same time, it is becoming much harder for local communities and the public to have a say in what happens in their own areas. This follows a pattern of shutting out environmental groups and making it harder for people to challenge these big decisions.
By scrapping previous environmental rules and placing climate change concerns at the bottom of the list, the National–ACT–New Zealand First coalition government is moving away from the protections we need for a safe future. It is favouring industrial growth over the long-term health of the environment.
A rotten fascist cooking pot. NZ needs to urgently unite against it!
The power wasn’t handed to the government they’re changing the rules to suit themselves. You have once again knocked it out of the park. Your writing style is so readable.