The Federal Government will seek to pass its environmental reforms bill this week as part of its push to update the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
“I think we’re very close. I had further meetings and discussions with both the Coalition and the Greens over the weekend, and that has definitely narrowed the issues,” Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt told ABC Radio National.
If passed, the new laws could speed up the mine approvals process and streamline major mining projects.
Speaking before the Senate Environment and Communication Legislation Committee recently, Minerals Council Australia chief executive officer (CEO) Tania Constable said the industry “strongly supports this bill’s intent to deliver a system that protects Australia’s unique environment while enabling responsible and efficient project development”.
She said getting the reforms right would provide an “immense opportunity” to boost Australia’s position and reputation as a reliable and globally leading minerals producer.
“Developing more mines, more quickly will allow Australia to responsibly produce sooner and at greater scale – from traditional commodities to critical minerals such as copper, nickel and lithium – to support global decarbonisation and sustainable development goals,” she said.
In an opinion piece for The Australian Financial Review, Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) chief executive Warren Pearce outlined why the bill provided a balanced approach and why it should, ultimately, be passed.
“The new framework entrenches the ‘net gain’ principle, under which, after avoidance and mitigation, proponents must not only offset their project’s environmental impacts but also find a way to improve the overall environment and deliver a better environmental outcome,” Pearce wrote.
“This is about as good as it gets, and it’s a hell of a lot better than what we’ve got.”
Minister Watt has said the new legislation could equate to billions of dollars in savings to the economy.
“Analysis by my department on the economic value of these reforms shows annual savings of at least half a billion dollars and potentially up to $7 billion to the national economy,” Watt said in a National Press Club speech recently.
At a critical point in time for the Australian mining industry, these reforms may help to shape a policy and regulatory framework that enables the industry to capitalise on the abundance of growth opportunities presented by the transition to renewables and the ongoing development of critical minerals extraction and processing.
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