Big savings expected

Press, 2 October 1979, Page 14

Big savings expected

The National Development s Bill, designed to streamline f submissions on important energy projects and to pre- E vent expensive delays to the|t Government energy pro-1 gramme, will be introduced f to Parliament this week, the t Minister of Energy and Nat- t ional Development (Mr c Birch) has said, reports the; Press Association. r In an address to the Au- i tomobile Association's an-,c nual conference at Nelson, ; he said, "It will be the fast f track, but only for important ;s projects. t "The move is not intended I to change the criteria of s

statutory procedure, nor to’ remove public involvement, i but to bring procedure be-; fore one tribunal and avoid' endless appeals and litiga-1 tion.” Mr Birch said the reasonl for the bill’s introduction! was the considerable cost that could accrue from I delays in the energy field. | “For the first time the | magnitude of the investment involved has started to. become widely recognised. "Including the Maui A platform already constructed. the expansion of the refinery at Marsden i Point, a methanol plant, al synthetic fuels plant, lique- I

ified petroleum gas plant and! [ distribution, more than I S2OOOM will be involved. [ “The projects will stretch I [the financial resources and; [skills available within the [country. Equally, however, [the benefits will be great. “With agreed targets of [more than 50 per cent self- ! sufficiency in transport fuels [by 1987, substantial foreign [exchange savings will accrue [over all,” Mr Birch said. The National Development i Bill envisages a procedure in [which submissions made on la big energy work could be! [heard by the Town and! [Country Planning Tribunal. I