Environment Minister Greg Hunt has taken decisions on 125 projects in the Coalition's first three months in office, including approving 29 major projects, which the government estimates are worth $400bn. The decisions - the latest of which was Clive Palmer's giant Waratah Coal/China First coalmine and railway line to the Abbot Point coal port - could spark a new wave of development.
Mr Hunt also has approved the $1.4bn Abbot Point coal terminal expansion, which paves the way for the creation of the world's biggest coal export port.
But the approvals - particularly coalmine approvals in the Galilee Basin and the expansion of the Abbot Point coal port - have sparked allegations of "development at any cost" from the Greens and environment groups.
Queensland Greens senator Larissa Waters has described the approval as a "terrible Christmas present for the planet" and has raised concerns about its impact on underground water aquifers as well as its impact on combating climate change.
The Abbot Point expansion has been attacked as "criminal" by environmental groups that are calling for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to use its powers to protect the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.
Mr Hunt said the government was sticking to high environmental standards.
He also has fast-tracked another 46 projects to avoid delays, after inheriting 371 unassessed projects from the previous Labor government, with 22 dating back to 2008. "We have made real steps in unblocking the pipeline while also putting in place some of the strictest environmental conditions in Australian history," Mr Hunt told The Australian.
"It's possible to have high environmental standards and genuine decision-making. The previous government was unable to say yes and unable to say no."
Mr Hunt also has determined that a further 30 projects require no further assessment and 16 require no further assessment as long as certain requirements are met. Another 50 projects have been "assessed and progressed" under the water trigger.
Any short-term boost to mining investment would provide a much-needed buffer to the economy and give more time to the non-mining sectors on the east coast to fill the growth gap.
The decision was delayed by Labor in August until after the federal election and has proved controversial with environmentalists because the expansion will require dredging, with mud to be dumped in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Releasing the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook earlier this month, Joe Hockey said it was crucial the government "do everything we can to facilitate new mining investments such as the Roy Hill iron ore project in the Pilbara and gas projects across the country".
The Treasurer said this was to compensate for the fact that mining investment could detract up to 2 per cent from economic growth between 2014 and 2016.
On winning office, Tony Abbott declared Australia was "open for business". The Coalition had campaigned on reducing approval times for major projects and speeding up assessments under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act by eliminating duplication between state and federal governments.
The approvals come as the Abbott government has turned its sights on encouraging BHP Billiton to take up its shelved Olympic Dam expansion as it seeks to find alternative economic opportunities for South Australia in the wake of Holden's decision to stop making cars in Australia from 2017.
Federal ministers have held talks with BHP about ways to assist in the expansion of the South Australian uranium and copper project, including research and development aid, approval processes and political stability in decision-making.
Coalition ministers have been assuring the mining giant there is a political will to provide help on "one-stop" environmental approval procedures, the potential use of clean-technology development funds for research and development and certainty on the carbon and mining taxes.
At his first Council of Australian Governments meeting this month, the Prime Minister secured agreements with all states and territories to give them responsibility for environmental approvals.
NSW and Queensland had already signed "assessment bilaterals" at the previous COAG meeting, while Labor-led Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT signed memorandums of understanding with the commonwealth, along with Coalition-led Western Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory
The Business Council of Australia has been pushing for a single environmental approvals process as a way to reduce costs to business and avoid delays.
Mr Hunt said all the decisions were "legacies" from the previous government. "Each had been given preliminary approval but then stalled," he said.
"In the final months of the previous government, decision-making ground to a halt as they were more focused on themselves than on the country."
The 29 projects approved include Arrow Energy's Surat coal-seam gas projects west of Brisbane and Arrow's Curtis Island liquefied natural gas facility and associated pipeline north of Gladstone worth $15bn.
Also on the list is GVK Hancock's Kevin's Corner coalmine in the Galilee Basin in Queensland, the 7500-dwelling Huntlee residential development in North Rothbury, NSW, and the Nambucca Heads to Waterfall Way Pacific Highway upgrade in NSW.
Mr Hunt has also approved Esso's Scarborough floating LNG facility for Western Australia.
From Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment