The Coalition will create super-fast-track environmental assessments for \u201cnational interest projects\u201d and unwind changes that bar oil and gas projects from using more streamlined processes, Angus Taylor will commit on Monday.<\/p>\n
The Opposition Leader will pledge to \u201cunashamedly back our resource sector\u201d in a speech to the sector\u2019s leaders in Perth, kicking off his first trip west since taking the party\u2019s helm.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll also double down on Sussan Ley\u2019s policy to scrap the safeguard mechanism that was set up under the previous Coalition government to manage emissions from the largest polluting facilities, describing it as another carbon tax.<\/p>\n
The Coalition\u2019s climate policy agreed last November promised to scrap the safeguard mechanism and replace it with a voluntary scheme. This would require large emitters to report against a baseline level of emissions each year, but not force them to buy or surrender credits for exceeding it, or face fines.<\/p>\n
Mr Taylor will tell the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA that Labor has had the resources industry in its crosshair.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWith activists now ascendant in Labor\u2019s rank-and-file, it\u2019s no wonder the Albanese Government has adopted policies that are hostile to primary industries,\u201d he will say, according to a draft speech seen by The West Australian.<\/p>\n
He describes the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act overhaul \u2013 which has yet to start operation \u2013 as a \u201cdisaster\u201d and laments that Labor teamed up with the Greens to pass the legislation late last year.<\/p>\n
Negotiations on the bill went down to the wire, and many across business and the resources sector wanted the Coalition to make compromises to do a deal with the Government, but ultimately it was unbending.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe laws put environmental goals ahead of economic and sovereign capability necessities,\u201d Mr Taylor will say.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have been drafted not with a reasonable intent to protect and preserve our environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather, the laws have been drafted to weaponise a green activist anti-development and anti-industry agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under amendments the Greens demanded for their support, fossil fuel projects cannot access new streamlined assessment pathways or be eligible for \u201cnational interest\u201d approvals that allow the minister to step in.<\/p>\n
Mr Taylor says the Coalition would change the laws to ensure all projects can access these streamlined pathways, claiming the exclusion of oil, gas and coal \u201cmonths out from the Middle East conflict reveals a government that is blind to the long-term needs of the country\u201d.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also promised to create a new stream for \u201cnational strategic priority projects\u201d that are of critical sovereign or national significance, or are considered national-building.<\/p>\n
Such projects on Commonwealth land or waters would have approvals fast-tracked, while the Federal Government would step out of the assessment process for those on State land.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Britain was a nation of shopkeepers, Australia is a country at risk of being weighed down by bureaucrats,\u201d Mr Taylor will say to describe the need for this.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Perth \u2013 not Canberra \u2013 that is best placed to understand local conditions and assess local impacts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time the Commonwealth Government trusted the states to get on with the job.\u201d<\/p>\n
The West revealed this month that talks between the WA and Commonwealth governments for an agreement allowing the State to assess projects under federal law are yet to begin in earnest, prompting fears from industry that WA will be left behind when the new EPBC laws come into effect.<\/p>\n
Mr Taylor will also pledge to reinstate the junior minerals exploration project, matching the $100 million promise Peter Dutton took to last year\u2019s election, but quarantining half that money for oil and gas exploration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Coalition will create super-fast-track environmental assessments for \u201cnational interest projects\u201d and unwind changes that bar oil and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618096,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,99,75,2322,6827,44,84,128],"class_list":["post-618095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-environment","tag-federal-politics","tag-mining","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}