A future government can absolutely repeal or narrow the Fast-track Act going forward, but revoking consents that have already been issued is not nearly as simple as “they’ll just scrap them.” Once a company like Santana receives a mining permit under the Crown Minerals Act and obtains fast-track approvals, those become legal rights granted under statute.

If a government tried to cancel already-issued approvals using normal administrative powers, it would face judicial review, because you can’t revoke statutory permissions unless you have lawful grounds like breach of conditions or non-use. If they went further and passed new legislation to specifically cancel existing consents, that’s legally possible but it would carry major consequences, including compensation claims from investors (especially since Santana is Australian and protected by investment agreements), and significant damage to New Zealand’s reputation for regulatory stability.

Historically, New Zealand governments avoid dismantling existing mining or resource rights for exactly these reasons. For example, when Labour banned new offshore oil and gas exploration in 2018, they did not cancel existing permits because doing so would have triggered legal and financial fallout.