The Opposition will not commit to honouring future consents under the government’s fast-track legislation, prompting accusations from Shane Jones that Chris Hipkins is being an "ideological snake in the grass".
The political spat over future investment in the country comes at the same time the government and Labour are separately calling for bipartisan consensus on infrastructure and energy projects.
Mr Jones, the Minister for Resources, said they could not "have a modern nation" if prospective political leaders carried on with that "snake-in-the-grass, Venezuelan sort of diatribe".
His comments came in response to Labour revealing the future of any consents specific to the government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill was "still an active conversation within the Labour Party".
"We have concerns about whether our international obligations are being met, particularly around environmental protections, and we will want the option to review these consents if back in government," a spokesperson for Mr Hipkins said.
Mr Jones said those were "weasel words" that were "undermining [their] international reputation".
"Contracts and consents, statutorily allocated permits, should not be made an ideological play thing. International domestic investors, once they’ve got their consents, should not be stripped indiscriminately of their legal rights," he said.
"The Labour Party, if they ever want to govern again, need to come out clearly and say they will not tolerate such vandalism from the Greens, and they will uphold the rights and privileges of anyone who lives in New Zealand and has a statutory authority to carry out their business."
The Green Party has been clear that all fast-track projects could be in jeopardy in any future government.
In a statement earlier this week, the party’s environment spokesperson Lan Pham said any companies thinking of taking advantage of a fast-track process that short cut their democracy and side-stepped "the scrutiny of [their] parliamentary process should be well aware that a change of government could result in a loss of consent, possibly without compensation".
Labour has said it would have those conversations with the Greens at the point any coalition government was being formed.
By Jo Moir
