45584 (2025). Lan Pham to the Minister for the Environment

45584 (2025). Lan Pham to the Minister for the Environment: How many, if any, full time equivalent staff are working on the Minister's comments to Fast Track expert panels?

Hon Penny Simmonds: On average, approximately 60% of the time of five FTE staff from the Ministry for the Environment (the Ministry) is dedicated to advising the Minister for the Environment on whether to respond to invitations to comment on fast-track applications from the Minister for Infrastructure (on referral applications) and the expert panel (on substantive applications). Depending on the type and complexity of the application, those staff also draw on subject matter expertise from other teams across the Ministry. The number of applications is variable so in some weeks, up to 100% of their time may be dedicated to fast-track related work, while in other weeks it may be significantly less. On average, however, the commitment remains around 60% of five FTEs.