Article by Russell Yeo, courtesy of Energy News Bulletin.
Concerns expressed over open ended delays to projects.
Proposed laws which would allow opponents of fossil fuel projects to hold up projects indefinitely are causing concern and uncertainty in the energy industry
That’s according to a number of submissions made to the ongoing senate inquiry into the Labor government’s Nature First environmental legislation.
Interested parties including Australian Energy Producers (AEP) and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA (CME) have presented their thoughts on several issues with the legislation, particularly the proposed creation of a federal Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
Another issue of concern is giving the ability of anyone to ask the federal minister to reconsider a decision made at any time before a final determination has been made. The request, which would be made under Section 78A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, can be made even where assessment documents have been submitted and approval processes are underway.
In the AEP’s submission, CEO Samantha McCulloch wrote: “Australian businesses already operate in a high cost and highly complex regulatory environment. Introducing changes that create additional unnecessary regulatory burden, costs or uncertainty would only exacerbate these issues. This, in turn, would reduce productivity and further deter investment in an already difficult global market for capital.
“There needs to be a balance between independence and accountability for decisions. The current framework does not allow intervention where key performance indicators are missed (such as statutory timeframes, etc). There should be stronger mechanisms for the EPA to be accountable for the manner in which they exercise the powers and discretion given to them. This is especially true in the formation of a new agency with new and untested legislation.”
Prior to the hearing WA Premier Roger Cook had also warned the Nature Positive Plan could cause “significant delays” to project approvals, in an intervention that will intensify pressure on the federal government to rethink elements of its plans.
'Better for business' essential - CME
Also at the hearings were the CME’s CEO, Rebecca Tomkinson, and Policy Director, Adrienne LaBombard.
“As part of our evidence, CME highlighted the critical importance of these reforms to Western Australia. We noted that while we support reform, it must deliver on the Nature Positive Plan’s stated ‘better for business’ and ‘better for the environment’ objectives and noted the lack of open consultation to date has provided limited ability to test proposed changes on the ground,” the CME said in a statement.
If the legislation is enacted as proposed, once a reconsideration request is accepted there would be no time limit for the minister to make a decision.
A report on the Nature Positive (Environment Information Australia) Bill 2024, the Nature Positive (Environment Protection Australia) Bill 2024, and the Nature Positive (Environment Law Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024 is due to published by 8 August 2024.
