Council remains opposed

Press, 5 December 1979, Page 3

Council remains opposed

The Canterbury Council for Civil Liberties remains totally opposed to the; amended version of the National Development Bill. The chairman of the coun-, cil (Dr K. P. Clements) has! issued a statement saying; that although the blanket' power to override legislation’ had been removed, too much power remained in the hands of the Minister. He said the Government had conceded some need for judicial review but had re-; stricted this to the Court of Appeal, leaving fewer opportunities for review on large planning provisions than at present. There had been no narrowing of the definition of “national interest.” There was still no provision for Parliament to debate Ministerial decisions that departed from tribunal recommendations. The Minister was still not accountable to Parliament on why projects were chosen for the “fast ’ track.” The Government had not ’ accepted the Planning Coun- ’ cii’s recommendations for a I “sunset clause,” which ] meant the bill could last in | perpetuity. There was still :no protection for Maori I land. Mr Clements noted that 67 submissions to the select ; committee had yet to be 1 heard. He said that there . was no justification for the ' haste in passing the legisla- ! tion and that the changes made were intended to make an “unworkable bill work- : able without losing face.” “In doing so, they have treated the more than 500 negative submissions with contempt,” he said. The council wanted the . bill to be debated further ; special projects could still be given the “fast track” ; treatment with special enabling legislation.