Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank senators who have contributed to this debate. Cost recovery for environmental assessment activities under the EPBC Act is an important initiative. The introduction of cost recovery is in line with past and present government policy and guidelines on cost recovery. Incredibly, the decision to introduce cost recovery for environmental assessments was taken by the previous government and was included as a measure in the 2012-13 budget—that is, two budgets ago—and of course it comes down yet again to this government to actually progress legislation for the parliament to give effect to a measure that the previous government had banked in their budget two budgets ago.

This bill will allow for the effective implementation of cost recovery for Commonwealth environmental assessment activities, including strategic assessments, by allowing regulations to set fees for environmental assessments and make provision for fee waivers, exemptions and refunds. Cost-recovery will provide incentives to industry to undertake early engagement and incorporate the most environmentally acceptable outcomes into their business planning in order to reduce costs.

The Australian government is committed to delivering a one-stop shop for environmental approvals. That was one of the commitments that we took to the last election. Cost recovery complements the government's commitment to streamlining environmental approvals under the one-stop shop arrangement. It will improve the Department of the Environment's ability to meet statutory time frames by providing a sustainable source of resources to improve the efficiency of the assessment process. Cost recovery arrangements under the EPBC Act will apply only to Commonwealth assessment activities and not to state assessment activities. When an when action is covered by the one-stop shop a person will not have to pay any fees to the Commonwealth for the state assessment. It will be up to the states and territories to decide whether to cost recover for their own environmental impact assessment activities.

In conclusion, the implementation of cost recovery will assist with the government's streamlining agenda by helping to ensure that Commonwealth government environmental assessment activities are carried out as efficiently and as effectively as possible. The bill demonstrates the government's commitment to implementing genuine reform to deliver more effective and efficient regulatory processes while maintaining high environmental standards. I commend the bill to the Senate.