Mrs FINOCCHIARO - 2016-04-20
In all the debate around hydraulic fracturing one of the common refrains is the need for good, strong environmental legislation. Would the minister please update us on how the Country Liberals government is implementing best-practice environmental regulations in the development of our onshore gas industry to encourage business investment to build an economy that creates wealth and jobs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for her question. This government believes preserving the Northern Territory’s unique pristine environment is not only the right thing to do but is of huge economic and cultural importance. We are committed to implementing modern regulatory reform and to building a world-class environmental regulatory system. We are not being trendy about it.
The Country Liberal government is the only voice of sense and reason when it comes to the sustainable development of these important industries. While those opposite continue on their path of an ill-conceived, knee-jerk moratorium, our government is busy gathering facts and the most contemporary scientific information available.
We are not doing a quick fix. We want to get it right. We were very clear when we released the findings and the recommendations from Dr Allan Hawke’s review into the environmental assessment and approvals process. We announced that we will work with the community to implement Allan Hawke’s recommended option, which involves improving environmental impact assessment processes and progressively testing and strengthening environmental approvals legislation.
We agree with Dr Hawke that testing and strengthening the system across the board provides the best means of maintaining environmental standards while delivering reduced regulatory timeframes, duplication and uncertainty. We are committed to making environmental impact assessments more transparent, clear and efficient. We are also committed to giving industry clarity and certainty when dealing with environmental processes.
With such major changes flagged, we committed to conducting a comprehensive consultation process on Dr Hawke’s recommendations. Late last year departmental representatives began the process with a range of detailed meetings with industry, community groups and other interested stakeholders. We heard that no one wanted to be bombarded with complex discussion papers or workshops too quickly. The time frames needed to be realistic to ensure consultation would be meaningful.
We have listened to this feedback. The discussions are continuing throughout the year and tie in with key reform areas. Also in this space, just last week we saw our approach supported by Labor’s energy expert. Dr Tina Hunter’s independent review found that the Territory’s petroleum environmental regulations are a major step forward. In fact, she went so far as to say the regulations are a quantum leap from the regulations of old, confirming that risk-based regulations are a welcome addition.
That is from an expert originally appointed by Labor in 2012, so we now have two independent experts, Dr Allan Hawke and Dr Hunter, supporting the work of the Country Liberals.
The Opposition Leader, in February this year, did not even know the Hawke report had been peer reviewed at an international conference with delegates from nine countries. This was a conference which the government …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for her question. This government believes preserving the Northern Territory’s unique pristine environment is not only the right thing to do but is of huge economic and cultural importance. We are committed to implementing modern regulatory reform and to building a world-class environmental regulatory system. We are not being trendy about it.
The Country Liberal government is the only voice of sense and reason when it comes to the sustainable development of these important industries. While those opposite continue on their path of an ill-conceived, knee-jerk moratorium, our government is busy gathering facts and the most contemporary scientific information available.
We are not doing a quick fix. We want to get it right. We were very clear when we released the findings and the recommendations from Dr Allan Hawke’s review into the environmental assessment and approvals process. We announced that we will work with the community to implement Allan Hawke’s recommended option, which involves improving environmental impact assessment processes and progressively testing and strengthening environmental approvals legislation.
We agree with Dr Hawke that testing and strengthening the system across the board provides the best means of maintaining environmental standards while delivering reduced regulatory timeframes, duplication and uncertainty. We are committed to making environmental impact assessments more transparent, clear and efficient. We are also committed to giving industry clarity and certainty when dealing with environmental processes.
With such major changes flagged, we committed to conducting a comprehensive consultation process on Dr Hawke’s recommendations. Late last year departmental representatives began the process with a range of detailed meetings with industry, community groups and other interested stakeholders. We heard that no one wanted to be bombarded with complex discussion papers or workshops too quickly. The time frames needed to be realistic to ensure consultation would be meaningful.
We have listened to this feedback. The discussions are continuing throughout the year and tie in with key reform areas. Also in this space, just last week we saw our approach supported by Labor’s energy expert. Dr Tina Hunter’s independent review found that the Territory’s petroleum environmental regulations are a major step forward. In fact, she went so far as to say the regulations are a quantum leap from the regulations of old, confirming that risk-based regulations are a welcome addition.
That is from an expert originally appointed by Labor in 2012, so we now have two independent experts, Dr Allan Hawke and Dr Hunter, supporting the work of the Country Liberals.
The Opposition Leader, in February this year, did not even know the Hawke report had been peer reviewed at an international conference with delegates from nine countries. This was a conference which the government …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016