The Business Council of Australia says the Environment Protection Reform Bill is a missed opportunity for the Parliament to deliver long-lasting reform that would unlock investment and fast-track major projects Australia urgently needs.
Business Council Chief Executive Bran Black said the BCA will be closely watching the rollout of these reforms and will engage with the Government over the next 12 months to ensure promised productivity benefits are delivered.
“We have always said a sensible, stable reform backed by both major parties is what we need if Australia is to deliver the energy and renewables, critical minerals and infrastructure projects that underpin productivity and living standards,” Mr Black said.
“We have long supported the right reforms to the EPBC Act to deliver better outcomes for both environmental protection and business, but our concern with this package, as it stands, is that there’s lots more work to do to deliver a net benefit for business and the economy.”
Mr Black said while the Government had addressed some of the most significant concerns of business with sensible changes, the overall impact of the reform, at this time, had the potential to stall major projects.
The BCA advocated for key changes in the Bill, which have been achieved, including:
- A commitment to guardrails around the new environment protection orders
- The reinstatement of a key assessment pathway
- The minister having the ability to extend the 5-year sunset provisions for non-controlled actions.
“While significant changes have been made to the unacceptable impacts provisions, we are concerned there is still ambiguity and risk, which may shut out projects before a proper assessment.
“The national EPA and its CEO will now also have broad authority over approvals, rather than being focused on compliance and enforcement.”
The EPA model, while not preferred, is an improvement on last year’s proposal.
“Critically for business, we still need to see real binding national accreditation for state approvals, meaning duplication, delays and uncertainty could remain – this now must be the Government’s focus.”
The BCA is concerned that the Greens’ amendments create new barriers that cut against national priorities for the energy transition, including;
- excluding gas projects from streamlined pathways and regional planning
- preventing water-trigger projects from using single-desk approvals