PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A number of resources industry bodies have called for a reform of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, as an independent review into the legislation continues.

“Reforms to the Act are long overdue, and numerous reviews over the past decade have repeatedly highlighted opportunities to improve regulatory efficiency by addressing unnecessary duplication and complexity while maintaining strong environmental protections,” Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) CEO Tania Constable said on Monday.

“An improved EPBC Act would build on positive recent government initiatives to reduce delays by integrating environmental data and establishing a digital platform for environmental assessment with Western Australia and additional resourcing to address the backlog of projects under assessment.”

The MCA, along with the New South Wales Minerals Council, Queensland Resources Council, Chamber of Minerals and Energy for Western Australia, South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy, Tasmanian Minerals, and the Manufacturing and Energy Council, have called for a number of improvements to the ACT, including eliminating or reducing duplication and ensuring consistency between Commonwealth and state/territory processes.

The industry bodies also suggested reducing delays in assessment and approval processes, improving certainty for proponents, government and the community, and ensuring better, fit-for-purpose regulation – not lower environmental standards.

“Australia’s world-leading minerals sector is committed to the protection of our unique environment, including upholding leading practice environmental protection based on sound science and robust risk-based approaches,” Constable said.

She noted that significant growth in regulation across all levels of government including the EPBC Act had not led to better environmental outcomes, with the 2016 State of the Environment report finding that under the EPBC Act "the status of biodiversity in Australia is generally considered poor and deteriorating".

“For business, regulatory inefficiency and uncertainty deters investment and increased costs while greatly limiting job opportunities and economic benefits for regional communities from mining.

“A one-year delay to a project can reduce its net present value by between 10% and 13% per year, and for large mining projects, with a value from A$3-billion to A$4-billion, delay costs can be up to A$1-million per day.

“Since the review process began, Australia has faced an unprecedented economic and social threat from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“Pragmatic reforms to the EPBC Act will help reduce delays in project approvals, stimulate investment and fast-track the major projects needed for Australia’s speedy post-Covid recovery.”