Photo by: Bloombeg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Australian resources sector has welcomed the federal government’s decision to amend a loophole in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, allowing radical green activists to engage in vigilante litigation to stop significant economic projects.
Attorney-General George Brandis would introduce the legislation to Parliament for passage through the House of Representatives later this week.
Brandis noted that Section 487 of the EPBC Act provided a red carpet for radical activists who had a political, but not a legal, interest in a development to use aggressive litigation tactics to disrupt and sabotage important projects.
“The activists themselves have declared that that is their objective – to use the courts not for the proper purpose of resolving a dispute between citizens, but for a collateral political purpose of bringing developments to a standstill and sacrificing the jobs of tens of thousands of Australians in the process,” he said.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott previously expressed criticism of the tactics employed by some elements of the green movement and their “apparent ability to play games and to game the system”.
“That must end,” the Prime Minister added.
The decision to amend the EPBC Act came shortly after Indian major Adani had its environmental approval for the $16.5-billion Carmichael coal and rail project, in Queensland, overturned by the Federal Court.
The approval was appealed by greens group, the Mackay Conservation Group, which made use of a loophole in the current EPBC Act and argued that Environment Minister Greg Hunt had failed to consider conservation advice when making his decision on the project.
Following the successful appeal, the Department of Environment admitted that its advice to the Minister should have been provided in a “particular manner”.
The project had been further delayed, as the Department of Environment would take between six to eight weeks to compile a new report on the project, which would, once again, have to be approved by Hunt.
The approvals process for the Carmichael mine has now dragged on for nearly five years.
Abbott noted on a doorstop this week that, while the country should maintain the highest environmental standards, once the tests have been applied and the project passed these test, the project had to be able to be developed.
“A very great deal is at stake here and what I want to see is a determination by our country, a commitment by our leadership, not to needlessly stand in the way of investment and jobs.
“This is a big issue not just for the government; this should be a big issue for the Parliament, ensuring that investment and jobs go ahead, ensuring that the rules are fair but they're also fairly applied and at the moment it seems like there's never any end to this,” the Prime Minster said.
The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has welcomed the proposed reform, saying that, if unchecked, the gaming of legal and approvals processes campaign would exact a significant toll on the Australian economy.
“Australia already has a strong and robust mining project approval regime. It provides ample opportunity for community engagement and involvement and avenues for legitimate appeal. Business needs certainty that, once high environmental standards are met, the project can proceed without unnecessary delay,” MCA CEO Brendan Pearson said.
The Association of Mining & Exploration Companies has agreed, with its CEO Simon Bennison warning that if immediate action was not taken, greens activists were likely to target other commodities and regions.
“Australia has some of the highest environmental standards in the world for mining. The government’s proposed change to the EPBC Act will not detract from this,” he added.