The Western Australian Government has introduced a reform for environmental approval laws to help fast-track “major” job-creating projects.
The Environmental Protection Act Amendment Bill 2024, introduced to the parliament yesterday (14 August), delivers on the state government’s December 2023 commitment to overhaul environmental approval laws in response to the Vogel-McFerran Review — which found approvals can be overly complex, time consuming, and costly without benefiting the environment.
Under the new legislation, other government regulators will be allowed to issue their own approvals ahead of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) issuing an environmental impact assessment.
To date, other government regulators have not been able to consider approvals for a project until the EPA has finished its assessment — often resulting in multi-year delays to projects.
The government says under the new parallel decision-making policy, proponents will be able to obtain other approvals while their environmental impact is assessed, which potentially saves years in the process.
These new laws will also see the Environment Minister provide the EPA with a ‘statement of expectation’, which helps it better understand the government policies, including the green energy transition, housing delivery, job creation, and protection of the state’s environment.
Premier Roger Cook says the legislation strikes the right balance, while also maintaining the highest environmental standards.
“For too long, major job-creating projects have been held up for years at a time by an inefficient, sluggish system that does not deliver any additional environmental outcomes.
“These sensible reforms retain all environmental protections, but streamline processes into a more efficient, responsive system.”
Projects will still need EPA approval to begin, maintaining “strong” environmental protections, with penalties for conducting works without approval to double — with fines up to $125,000 for an individual and $250,000 for a body corporate.
Environment Minister Reece Whitby says the reforms ensure Western Australia’s high environmental protection standards are upheld.
“Whether it’s ending native logging, retiring all state-owned coal-fired power by 2030, or undertaking the largest-ever expansion of Western Australia’s conservation estate, the Cook Labor Government has done more for Western Australia’s environment than any other government in our state’s history,” Whitby says.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
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