The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME) welcomes the State Government’s decision to sign up to the Federal Government’s one-stop-shop for Environmental Approvals.
At the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting today, Western Australia confirmed it would join other states and sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to implement a bilateral agreement with the Commonwealth Government.
“The support for bilateral agreements at COAG today is a welcome step towards removing unnecessary duplication in environmental assessments and deliver much needed certainty, efficiency and transparency of decision making for resource projects,” said CME Chief Executive Reg Howard-Smith.
Bilateral agreements will enable State and Territory Governments to undertake environmental assessments under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) in parallel with state based approvals processes. As detailed in the MOU, these assessments will include the same high level of environmental protection, whilst minimising process duplication and delays.
“Despite concerns raised by environmental lobby groups, the one-stop-shop will not see a “watering down” of environmental standards. The establishment of bilateral agreements will realise significant efficiencies in the process while maintaining the same level of EPBC Act environmental protection,” said Mr Howard-Smith.
“When fully implemented, this policy will help deliver more streamlined and cost efficient approvals, reducing the Commonwealth’s involvement on a project-by-project basis, and enabling a focus on more on strategic outcomes for biodiversity,” said Mr Howard-Smith.
The West Australian resource sector looks forward to the full implementation of bilateral agreements between the Commonwealth and Western Australia.
