An elected Dutton Coalition Government would prioritise Western Australian jobs and the delivery of energy security for the state by directing the Federal environment department to fast track their assessment of the North West Shelf gas extension.
Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Peter Dutton MP said that this commitment would bring back investor certainty that has been discarded under the Albanese Labor Government.
“We would expedite consideration of the North West Shelf project as a matter of urgency because, unlike Labor, we recognise the significance of the North West Shelf to the WA economy and the importance of secure and reliable gas supplies in pushing down energy prices,” Mr Dutton said.
“The Albanese Labor Government has been the most anti-resources, anti-mining, anti-WA federal government in living memory. It is of national importance that this project not be held up any longer by a government whose Prime Minister and Minister would rather gain Green votes in inner-city electorates than approve good economic projects for the energy security of our nation.”
Shadow Environment Minister, Senator the Hon Jonno Duniam said “Any unnecessary delays to projects like the North West Shelf extension undermine jobs and the confidence of businesses that want to invest in our economy. We do not need to sacrifice our environment to make sensible economic decisions. Both can go hand in hand.”
“Unlike the stalling and obfuscation that has been a trademark of the Albanese Labor Government when it comes to approvals of critical projects, a Dutton Coalition Government would make a decision on the North West Shelf extension within 30 days of Government.”
Further, the Coalition Government will improve broader investment certainty across the country through a National Interest Test requiring a strengthened consideration of the economic and social benefits of projects under environmental approvals.
“National interest considerations should be a critical part of the decision-making process, but this aspect has been lost on the Labor Government who have neglected communities that have been affected by their scandalous decisions for far too long.,” said Senator Duniam.
The Coalition will also establish a ‘statute of limitations’ on how reconsiderations of earlier EPBC Act approvals could be initiated. This would also limit the standing of third parties to challenge EPBC Act approval decisions, and limit third party requests for reconsiderations to a maximum 12 month period after an approval is made.
“Activists are emboldened under this Government. They have plunged millions of dollars into the Environmental Defenders Office who have frustrated and delayed significant projects and industries across the country, and it needs to stop,” Senator Duniam said.
“One only needs to see the disgraceful actions of the Environmental Defenders Office in the Barossa pipeline case, where an EDO employee was accused by a Federal Court Judge of lying to a Tiwi Islander witness to stop a gas project. The revisitation by activist groups of a 12-year-old EPBC decision on salmon farming in Tasmania is another example of a community needlessly facing uncertainty because of these broken laws.”
Shadow Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Senator Susan McDonald welcomed the package of announcements saying they not only streamlined approval processes, but they also safeguarded the integrity of approval processes by ensuring they could no longer be abused by activist lawfare.
“This package of proposals is not only a part of the Coalition’s plans to get Australia back on track, but will also be central to strengthening Northern Australia’s investment credentials,” Senator McDonald said.
“The Coalition will put certainty front and centre of our decisions without sacrificing on environmental standards. Once a decision is made, it should only be able to be revisited under a State or Territory government request, not by a person or an activist organisation without a direct stake in the relevant project.”
These measures are critical to ensuring we get the energy picture right in this country. We are currently experiencing an energy policy trainwreck under Labor and we need sensible policies to fix Labor’s energy policy mess.
Today’s announcements on the North West Shelf, ensuring a National Interest Test for approvals, and limiting activists’ ability to stall critical projects are all part of the Coalition’s plan to fix Labor’s energy crisis and get our country back on track.