Sean Edwards (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on what is a bill not only of great environmental significance but also of the real economic importance. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Bilateral Agreement Implementation) Bill will slash red tape and increase jobs and investment while maintaining and improving environment standards. It is not uncommon for major projects to need 70 different types of approval. I am sure the Greens senators in the chamber are acutely aware of all these approvals, because fundamental to their opposition to this bill passing is their relevance. They are implacably opposed to all reforms that would streamline development in this country.

As an example, an upstream LNG program could require up to 390 regulatory approvals through state and federal agencies. The Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project was subject to over 70 different pieces of environmental legislation and policy, most of which were at the state level. Imagine a project where it cost $25 million to meet regulatory requirements alone, that had 4,000 meetings and a 1,200-page report which, after two years of assessments, was subject to another 1,200 state conditions, 300 Commonwealth conditions and a further 8,000 subconditions. We do not need to imagine this—it actually happened. The Business Council of Australia identified another recent project which required four assessment processes by four separate government agencies at both federal and state levels, all asking the same questions.

The one-stop shop will slash red tape and will increase jobs and investment, and it will maintain, or more likely improve, environmental standards.

The duplication of federal, state and local processes adds complexity and cost to environmental approvals across this country. The one-stop shop will streamline environmental assessments and approvals by removing all that unnecessary duplication between the Australian government and the states and territories, and will deliver benefits for business and the community. It will achieve this while maintaining high environmental standards.

It is all about increasing jobs and getting investment into Australia at a time when the ramping up and establishment of the mining industry is winding down as we go into a production phase. This will be very important. We are not looking to diminish any of the environmental standards. In fact, we are looking to improve on those. The duplication—gone; streamlining environmental assessments—present. That is what this act does—it just removes the unnecessary duplication between those state and territory local agencies, and it will deliver. When fully implemented it will simplify environmental approval processes with one single entry point.

The bilateral agreements with each state and territory, which will be agreed upon by the Commonwealth government with each of those jurisdictions, will ensure the observance of the law and that the intention of the environmental protection and biodiversity conservation act will be maintained. I am very proud to say this act was introduced by a South Australian senator, Robert Hill, at the time minister for the environment—a fellow well-known to me for his care for the environment—