Hazard-prone development likely under fast-track law, insurers and engineers warn
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Proposed fast-track laws could perpetuate inappropriate developments in natural hazard zones that put people and property in harm's way, insurers, local authorities and river engineers have warned.
The Insurance Council is among submitters warning that the Fast-track Approvals Bill does not currently do enough to prevent housing and infrastructure from being developed on land vulnerable to climate change risks.
A Hawke's Bay local government committee, still reeling from the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle, said the bill would undermine their coastal hazard planning and allow the types of risky developments that councils are desperate to stop.