Environment Minister Sussan Ley said this move was the first stage of ongoing reform of environmental protections.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Environment Minister Sussan Ley last year launched a program to hand the Commonwealth’s responsibility for environmental assessments of major projects,required by the EPBC Act,to state governments under a “one-touch” regime to speed up development approvals.
“The Morrison government is committed to maintaining strong environment protection and ensuring the EPBC Act is serving its intent to both protect the environment and grow the economy,” she told Parliament on Thursday when she introduced the Streamlining Environmental Approvals Bill.
Ms Ley said this move was the first stage of ongoing reform of environmental protections and committed to update the national standards in two years’ time,after consultation with stakeholders.
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However,she said the federal environment minister will be able to approve projects that breach the national standards.
“There may be circumstances where it is in the public interest to make a decision that is inconsistent with the national environmental standards,” she said. The minister will be required to publish a statement stating why a decision was in the public interest.
Former competition watchdog Graeme Samuel recently finished a review of the EPBC Act and found it was failing to protect the environment. He recommended several sets of new standards to protect Indigenous heritage and biodiversity,which havenot been included in the bill before Parliament.