WA projects risk missing out on fast-tracked approvals with deal talks yet to start in earnest

West Australian projects risk missing out on fast-tracked approvals once new Federal environmental laws come into effect because talks on a deal between governments haven’t yet started in earnest. WA Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn was in Canberra in late March for meetings including with his Federal counterpart Murray Watt, but The West Australian can reveal that serious negotiations for the bilateral deal have not yet started. “The State Government is ready to negotiate a bilateral agreement with the Commonwealth Government and is continuing to work closely with Environment Minister (Watt) on an outcome which will reduce duplication and ensure decisions can be made on major job-creating projects without delay,” a Cook Government spokesman said. Business sources say this means there is next to no chance of the agreement being in place when the new system starts in July. But they’re also worried about the proposed national environmental standards that will underpin new laws, with one warning that a bilateral deal would be a non-starter if these rules don’t meet the resources industry’s expectations. The WA Government also wants the standards to be finalised before it starts talks in earnest. The Government spokesman said WA “continues to advocate for changes to National Environment Standards which recognise the role of local industry in leading national economic growth”. Environment ministers have backed an “adaptive transition” to the new system. WA’s leading business and resources groups have all highlighted concerns with draft standards establishing matters of national environmental significance, and the new system of environmental offsets. Association of Mining and Exploration Companies chief executive Warren Pearce said the consultation on those standards would “help determine how the bilateral deal works for WA”. But they also fear the State risks being left behind if an agreement can’t be struck to allow WA’s department to assess projects at both State and Commonwealth levels. NSW already has a functioning arrangement to carry out Commonwealth assessments and is negotiating to also give approvals under the new laws. SA Premier Peter Malinauskas finalised an agreement in March for his State to do approvals. A Federal Government spokesman said the Commonwealth and WA were “progressing negotiations with a view to entering renewed bilateral agreements from this year, underpinned by new national environmental standards”. There is also ongoing work to improve new landscape-scale assessments. Without such a deal, the benefits for business from the new laws “completely evaporate”, Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA chief executive Aaron Morey said. “You do not get faster environmental approvals without a bilateral agreement between the State and the Commonwealth,” he said. Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA chief economist Daniel Kiely said there were major projects slated across WA that hinged on the ability to get approvals processed sooner rather than later. “WA has the most at stake when it comes to the environmental approvals process,” he said. Mr Pearce said AMEC had also underscored to both governments “the risk of the bilateral deal not speeding up assessments in WA” if it couldn’t be got right. The Australian Conservation Foundation’s national biodiversity policy adviser Brendan Sydes cautioned in February that a “headlong rush” into bilateral agreements risked making “promised nature protection gains fall by the wayside”. He also said there was a test looming for the Federal Government to properly fund implementation of the environmental reforms in the May Budget. After the new laws passed in November, Roger Cook said he saw no reason why a bilateral agreement “can’t be achieved within a matter of months”, although acknowledged the underpinning regulations would have to be ironed out. Senator Watt has previously said the agreement with WA was a top priority for him. He’s expected to visit Perth before the Budget.