Semenoff said Fast Track may be quicker than traditional consenting pathways but still required years of consultants, lawyers and paperwork \u2013 four and a half years in Kings Quarry\u2019s case. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that I\u2019m a champion of it [the Fast Track process]. It was very, very, very, very, very costly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked whether Fast Track was genuinely faster, Semenoff said, \u201cI guess it probably is … but gee whiz, it\u2019s very expensive\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said applicants needed confidence in their project and their ability to satisfy the approval process.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to believe in it. You\u2019ve got to know that you can get through it, otherwise it will burn you.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bureaucracy speaks for itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the cost and time involved, he believed the quarry would still be stalled under a conventional process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe probably wouldn\u2019t have got there or may have never got there, who knows?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With stages one and two complete, Kings Quarry could now operate at its expanded capacity for up to 60 years and potentially up to 200 years if it entered another stage, Semenoff said. <\/p>\n
The quarry added to Auckland\u2019s overall sand supply rather than replacing existing operators, he said.<\/p>\n
Combined with output from his Tomarata quarry near Mangawhai, sand from Kaipara Harbour, the Waikato, and manufactured sand produced elsewhere in Auckland, the city was well supplied, Semenoff said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo yeah, I\u2019m sure Auckland\u2019s not going to run out of sand. That\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
An overhead view of Kings Quarry. <\/p>\n
He said plans were underway for a ready-mix concrete plant at the quarry, also reducing the need to transport raw materials long distances before processing.<\/p>\n
Asked whether Kings Quarry was solving a supply problem or acting as a backup, Semenoff said it was \u201cdefinitely solving part of the Auckland problem\u201d. <\/p>\n
He would not comment on whether Kings Quarry\u2019s output reduces or rules out the need for new projects such as McCallum Bros\u2019 controversial proposal to extract sand from Bream Bay, also in Fast Track. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not in a position to judge any of the stuff relating to competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision was up to the consenting panel after considering submissions from local communities, he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been through the [assessment] judicial system, and we sort of stand by it,\u201d Semenoff said. <\/p>\n
He said a dispute before the courts involving Ritchie, himself, his son Alexander Semenoff<\/a> and the Kings Quarry board had not affected daily operations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a governance thing, but it\u2019s going through the process … I have faith in the judicial system<\/a>; it\u2019ll come out fine,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n