The Western Australian Liberal Party says its environmental policy reforms will cut green tape and expedite approvals, while also maintaining the state’s environmental protection, if elected at the next state election.
The next state general election in Western Australia is scheduled to be held on 8 March 2025.
On 6 June 2024, Liberal leader Libby Mettam referred to Western Australian Chamber of Commerce figures that show $318 billion of known investment in the resources sector is still awaiting environmental approvals.
“Labor’s delay are killing jobs and killing investment,” she said at the time.
“Streamlining the environmental approvals process will boost investment, particularly in critical mineral exploration and foster job creation in Western Australia.”
The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) says the opposition Liberal Party’s latest announcement aligns with many concerns seen and raised by members.
AMEC Chief Executive Warren Pearce says parallel approvals, tightening stop the clock, considering deemed approvals, and a revision of the duplicative Social Surrounds Policy are much needed reforms to get Western Australia moving.
He says the measures outlined by the opposition set a course to unlock the $318 billion investment.
A key measure includes reducing standing for appeals to those directly involved, which means besides the state, third parties cannot stop Western Australians benefitting from projects based on “misguided political activism”.
“The use of the State Administrative Tribunal for appeals makes sense and makes use of pre-existing bodies that have the functions needed if called upon, such as mediation to manage appeals,” Pearce says.
“Cutting the climate-related assessment and regulation duplication is a no-brainer that should have been done already. Carbon emissions are already legislated and regulated by the Commonwealth who have a bespoke agency managing the entire nation’s progress to international carbon commitments.”
The Vogel-McFerran Review commissioned by the Cook Labor Government, contains recommendations to improve environmental approval processes, however the Labor government has only implemented a handful of recommendations.
Opposition environment spokesperson Neil Thomson says reforms to be implemented will go further than just establishing a new office in the Perth CBD and a cross-departmental working group.
“Labor has just created more bureaucracy and done nothing to get dirt moving. Peter Dutton’s recent commitment to halving environmental approval timeframes, and to handing decision making power back to the states is welcome news for WA but will mean nothing under the Cook Labor Government, which continues to hold up billions in new projects,” he says.
The opposition says it will implement a plan to streamline approvals processes to harness the potential of WA’s natural resources in a responsible way.
In conjunction, it will reinvigorate the Economic Regulation Authority (ERA), which is Western Australia’s own independent economic and regulatory policy assessment body, to increase transparency about government policy and decision making with independent economic reviews.
If elected, the WA Liberal Party says it will introduce strict conditions on the use of stop-the-clock provisions to provide greater certainty and reduce unnecessary and unexpected project delays.
It will introduce new ‘deemed approvals’ processes with particular focus on conditions within environmental management plans to help keep projects moving and shift the focus of DWER and the EPA away from approval gatekeeping role to have a greater focus on genuine environmental protection.
The opposition adds it will also, amongst other touted changes, stop funding the Environmental Defenders Office, which it claims is “ludicrous taxpayers’ money being spent propping up activists”.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Forrestania & Waratah
