A new EPBC Bill will allow for the "legally robust devolution of environmental approvals to the states and territories", Environment Minister Sussan Ley told Parliament today.
Rio Tinto, Woodside and Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill iron ore mining company have told a Senate inquiry that protecting Indigenous cultural heritage should remain primarily a matter for the states.
Environment Minister Sussan Ley today gazetted plans to develop new EPBC Act bilateral agreements with all states and territories encompassing both assessments and approvals.
A federal parliamentary inquiry into Rio Tinto's destruction of Juukan Gorge has prompted calls to make potential impacts on Indigenous cultural heritage a trigger for EPBC Act referral.
Despite federal government plans to fast-track initial EPBC Act amendments, finalising bilateral approval agreements with states and territories will be a lengthy process, law firm Clayton Utz has cautioned.
The federal environment department doesn't effectively set EPBC Act approval conditions, has failed to properly specify offset requirements, and is ineffectual at monitoring compliance, says a new report by the Auditor-General.
Victoria's Auditor-General today delivered a scathing assessment of the state government's administration of arrangements that exempt housing estate developers from the EPBC Act.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison today urged all states and territories to negotiate EPBC approval bilateral agreements with Canberra, and praised a WA bill that will make the task easier.