The resources industry has hit out against the federal gov- ernment’s plans to amend environmental laws to protect water resources from large coal seam gas (CSG) and coal oper- ations.

Last week, Federal Environ-ment Minister Tony Burke announced that he would intro- duce amendments to the Environ- ment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act that would require federal assessment and approval of CSG and large coal-mining developments.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) said last week that the government’s latest foray into the resource development approvals process was “unwelcome” and incapable of satisfying environmental activists focused on destroying Queensland’s leading industries.

QRC CEO Michael Roche said plans to introduce a water trigger under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act was another example of policy on the run from a government that appeared more interested in picking fights than delivering outcomes.

“Another layer of bureaucracy is simply adding to Australia’s global reputation as a prohibitively expensive place to do business,” he said.

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (Amec) also said last week that the proposed changes were unnecessary and “completely unwarranted”.

“There is no doubt Australia’s water resources should be protected and managed in a way to ensure their sustainability. However, including water as a matter of national environ- mental significance is not the way,” Amec CEO Simon Benni-son said.

He pointed out that there had been no meaningful consultation with industry in this process.

“The management of water resources is the responsibility of the states and territories and not the Commonwealth. “Amec is of the view that it should remain this way as existing regulatory frameworks, skills and experience currently reside in the states’ and territories’ regulatory agencies.

“There is no need for Commonwealth regulatory duplication. “This proposal simply adds uncertainty and complexity to projects,” said Bennison.