PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The New South Wales Minerals Council has welcomed a promise by Premier Mike Baird to halve the assessment time for major mining projects in the region, saying that it would attract investments and create jobs.

Baird was quoted as saying that in the next term of government, the Planning Assessment Commission would be given direction on how to implement government policies when reviewing mining projects for approval, adding that under the current system, major mining projects could take more than 1 000 days to process.

“To me, that is unacceptable,” Baird said.

“We will appoint case managers from my department to manage planning applications through government processes, and be accountable to a Cabinet committee for delivering outcomes on time,” the Premier added.

Planning Minister Pru Goward on Friday revealed that the state government would also establish a whole-of-government approach to assessing state-significant mining applications to make sure that agencies responsible provide timely advice and feedback.

“We expect councils to assess development applications without delay, so we should hold ourselves to the same standards. The government’s commitment is to reduce the average time it takes to process state significant developments like manufacturing plants and mines by up to 170 days,” Goward said.

“These large and complex applications often require expert advice from government agencies other than the Department of Planning and Environment and this can add time to assessments.

“We will start by introducing clear and measurable timeframes for assessments and ensure government agencies work better together to meet these timeframes.”

The New South Wales Minerals Council said on Friday that the strong commitment by the Premier to streamline the current planning approvals process and reduce assessment timeframes by half was a welcome sign of support for our industry.

“Mining families and communities across New South Wales will warmly welcome the Premier’s strong demonstration of support for their industry. We look forward to working with the Premier and his government to help deliver these important reforms that will protect and create jobs,” New South Wales Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said.

He added that the reforms to the planning system announced by Goward were a positive sign that the Premier would deliver on his commitment to halve assessment times for major mining projects in the next term of government.

“The reforms announced today are a good step in the right direction. However, more changes will be needed to ensure the Premier’s commitment to halve assessment timeframes is met.

“We hope all sides of politics will embrace the changes needed to deliver the Premier’s commitment to halve assessment timeframes. Doing so will be good for the New South Wales economy, will protect jobs, and provide some comfort for families and communities across New South Wales that depend on mining projects for their economic future.”

However, Baird’s announcement has drawn criticism from environmental groups, with the Lock the Gate Alliance on Friday condemning the proposal to fast-track approval for mining and gas projects, along with Baird’s plans to crack down on communities who protest against the damage caused by mining.

Lock the Gate Alliance spokesperson Phil Laird said it was reckless for the state government to promise it would halve the time taken to approve major coal and coal seam gas (CSG) projects if it is re-elected.

“We've had our request to meet the Premier with people from mining-affected communities rejected, but the mining industry is much more fortunate - the decision to speed up approvals apparently arose after 13 mining executives met with the Premier.

“This was apparently a 'crisis' meeting called by the New South Wales Minerals Council which were outraged that two coal mines had been rejected on environmental grounds, out of a total of 30 coal mines that have been approved over the last two years,” Laird said.

The Alliance called on the state government to protect the ‘essentials of life and communities’ from the threat of coal and CSG mining, and to not lock-in damage for decades to come.