The projects are some of the 19 in Otago and Southland approved for inclusion in the Fast-track Approvals Bill, meaning consents for them will be fast-tracked.
The projects include 2800 homes at Homestead Bay in Queenstown; 1050 at Silver Creek in Queenstown; a new village at Coronet, with 780 houses and its own gondola; 263 houses in Wanaka; 260 more units at a Mosgiel retirement village; a new village at Gibbston with 900 houses and a primary school; a new golf course at The Hills; the expansion of Macraes gold mine and the establishment of a new gold mine at Bendigo; two wind farms and two open ocean salmon farms.
In Southland, the four projects include a new water reservoir for Invercargill and three fish farms.
In total, 149 projects were listed.
Once the bill becomes law, the projects listed will then be able to apply to the Environmental Protection Authority, which has an expert panel which will assess each project and apply any relevant environmental protections.
Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Glyn Lewers said it was an important day for the district, but also a challenging one, as there would doubtless be infrastructure issues which would need to be addressed.
"I think we’re the third highest in the number of building consents issued out ... Only Auckland and Christchurch issue more than us, so it’s going to be even more by the sounds of it.
"So for us, it really depends on how the expert panel will engage with council or if they do it all and whether it’s just at a technical planning level."
Mr Lewers said a few of those housing projects listed appeared to have very limited actual infrastructure to actually service the proposed housing.
"It’ll be quite interesting to see how the expert panel deals with it and what conditions they’ll apply if they grant a fast track consent.
"I can imagine some people in the district will be a little bit alarmed by it, but as you’re well aware, we need some housing."
Mr Lewers said the fact that 6 % of the projects came from a district presently serving 1% of the country’s population was an indication of the high growth and interest in the district.
Santana Minerals chief executive Damien Spring said yesterday’s announcement was satisfying, but the company was working through all the processes.
Mr Spring said the company hoped to release the pre-feasibility study, which would lay out the Bendigo-Ophir gold project in greater detail, to the public in the next couple of months.
"There’s commentary out there that fast-track excludes the community from the process, but it’s our objective to engage with the community, mana whenua, and the local councils."
OceanaGold senior vice-president Alison Paul welcomed the inclusion of the Macraes expansion on the fast-track list.
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said yesterday the 149 projects and the fast-track process would help rebuild the economy, fix the housing crisis, improve energy security and address the country’s infrastructure deficit.
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones said in a statement that the projects had been selected through a "thorough and robust" process.
Final decisions were made by Cabinet after going through the Ministry for Environment and an independent advisory group.
The Bill has prompted concern from several environmental organisations.
In June, widespread public opposition to the bill led to more than 20,000 people protesting down Auckland’s Queen Street.
Forest & Bird general manager for advocacy Richard Capie said the Bill was "a major departure from sound public policy, or reasonable environmental and conservation decision making".
"Under the bill, developments would be able to avoid community consultation, much expert scrutiny, and environmental safeguards under existing laws."
— additional reporting RNZ
