PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Australian resources sector has continued to welcome promises by the federal government to speed up the environmental approvals process for major projects.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison this week announced that the federal government would partner with Western Australia to develop a system that would allow project proponents to submit a single application through an online portal, track its progress and access a database of biodiversity studies relevant to their project.

Morrison estimated that the time-frame could be reduced from the current three-and-a-half years to between 6 and 18 months, through the better use of technology.

The Minerals Council of Australia has said that the promise was welcome news for the resources sector, with CEO Tania Constable saying that the minerals industry is committed to the protection of Australia’s unique environment.

“Regulatory complexity and duplication – including overlapping state and federal processes – delay minerals projects and reduce global competitiveness without improving environmental protection.

“The announced measures, including a single digital environmental approvals process and biodiversity database, are positive steps towards a more certain and timely approvals process, supporting both future investment and improved environmental outcomes,” Constable said.

She noted that the current review of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and the Productivity Commission’s review provided further opportunities for the federal government to act so Australia’s minerals industry can provide more sustainable, highly-skilled jobs and support stronger regional communities.

The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) has also welcomed Morrison’s announcement, with CEO Andrew McConville saying the measures will reduce red tape and unnecessary regulation, unlocking investment opportunities in Australia.

“The announcement represents an important step forward to improve and modernise the environmental approvals framework, which is currently time consuming, costly and complex,” McConville said.

“The new deregulation measures will greatly improve the framework but more importantly, doing this partnership with the Western Australian government, means more cooperation, information sharing and alignment.

“This is crucial in reducing the duplicative regulatory burden on industry without lowering environmental protections.”

He said that the proposed measures will develop a consistent, standardised digital system to assist proponents, regulators and the community by providing greater access to shared environmental data, reducing duplication, and improving transparency.

“Ensuring Australia remains an attractive destination for investment is crucial for delivering energy security and sustainability for domestic and export customers.

“Modernising and digitising the process means we will be able to maintain high environmental standards while improving certainty, consistency and transparency across agencies and jurisdictions.”

Oil and gas major Woodside, which is expected to make final investment decisions of up to $40-billion during the next 12 to 18 months, has also welcomed the news, with CEO and MD Peter Coleman saying the reform "can’t happen soon enough".

“We applaud the initiative taken by both governments to coordinate their approach on this. And we urge them to continue to pursue further changes to reduce excessive regulation that can jeopardise investment, without of course compromising standards.

“We welcome the federal government’s recognition that, in order to progress major projects, industry needs certainty around  the industrial relations instruments that will apply for the life of a project. That is, for the duration of its construction and commissioning. This is not about avoiding future pay rises. On the contrary, it is about locking in pay rises for the life of the project. And locking in the jobs.”

Coleman said that greenfield agreements provide increased certainty of costs and improve the chances of a project finishing on schedule and on budget, which in turn, improves the chances of the investment being made in the first place, supporting thousands of jobs.

“It also benefits workers by providing financial security, avoiding the need to resort to industrial action to secure pay increases. These are pragmatic changes that are worthy of cross-partisan support because of the benefits they can deliver to this country and its people"