The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has said the industry is now focused on working with the Federal Government to support a more competitive Australian minerals sector after today’s deal to pass environmental legislation reforms.
While MCA chief executive officer Tania Constable expressed some reservations about the reforms, she said the MCA will now encourage the Government to “rapidly accredit all states for both assessments and approvals which would support a more competitive Australian minerals sector”.
“This would be a major step forward for Australian mining companies, which currently face a laborious, lengthy and complex double-track assessment and approval process on issues which are mostly identical,” she said.
Constable said a good piece of news regarding the reforms is the inclusion of several provisions the MCA and others in the mining industry had advocated for inclusion in the new legislation.
These amendments included:
- a simplified definition of unacceptable impacts – a critical new test where projects will either be rejected outright or move forward for detailed assessment;
- the limiting of Environment Protection Orders to a maximum of 28 days;
- and the retention of some key existing approval pathways in relation to preliminary documentation – the most used pathway for resources projects.
The Federal Government hailed the deal to pass the reforms as a “significant victory”, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying it has the potential to “speed up the rollout of critical minerals projects”.
Speaking at a press conference, he said the reforms are a win for the environment and business, including the development of Australia’s critical minerals sector.
“I consider this to be a significant victory for the country because the country’s been held back by environmental laws that were not fit for purpose,” Albanese said.
“One of the things we need to do in this country for our economy is increase investment to speed up the housing development, speed up the rollout of renewable energy, speed up the rollout of critical minerals projects.
“To do so in a way that is sustainable as well, that protects our pristine and natural environment that Australians love for this and future generations. This achieves that, and I think it is certainly a proud moment that that occurs.”
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