Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

My advice is that this removal will ensure that the standard to be applied will be the EPBC Act. At the moment we have two pieces of legislation covering the same situation, on my advice, and the EPBC Act regime seems somewhat more transparent than that under the Water Act. Since 2008, in the last six years or so, under the Water Act it has been used once every two years in circumstances where it also required an assessment under the EPBC Act. It is these things which cost developers to get mines ready for production, which makes exploration and the opening of mines in Australia regrettably more expensive without any genuine extra environmental protection. When the developers look around the world they do not only have to look at Australia; there are opportunities right around the world for these developments. If we impose extra green tape, extra burdens, which, when you step back and ask how this protects the environment and then find it does not really, in those circumstances we say let us get rid of one layer and have the consistency of the EPBC Act applying across the board. That is what we are recommending to the Senate.