The COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Bill is part of the Government's response to support New Zealand's recovery from the economic and social disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, so that we can create jobs and rebuild our economy. The Government has taken urgent action to support people and the economy against the effects of COVID-19; however, the unemployment rate is rising. Although I disagreed with Mr Falloon in his earlier contribution on a prior bill as to the prediction as to how high unemployment is going to go, which I think is now a bit out of date, it is true that over 45,000 people have newly accessed the jobseeker benefit during the COVID-19 lockdown and since. The Government is making significant investments in infrastructure to bring forward those investments so as to get the economy moving and people back into jobs, and this bill will ensure that the resource management system supports this investment by speeding up resource consenting and designation processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA) to get projects started as soon as possible.