States would be a one-stop shop for environmental approvals for major projects under a coalition plan to fast track development and slash “green tape”.
Federal opposition leader Tony Abbott said the opt-in scheme would see states and territories administer Commonwealth legislation such as the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, creating a single lodgment and assessment process.
For some projects such as major offshore developments, approval responsibilities could be flicked back to the Commonwealth.
Deadlines would be set and unnecessary delays to decisions could incur penalties such as partial reimbursement of lodgment fees.
Commonwealth agents would be embedded within a state bureaucracy however a federal Coalition government would be flexible on how the one-stop-shops are run in each jurisdiction.
Although the plan is very similar to an agreement reached between Prime Minister Julia Gillard and states and territories only last week, Mr Abbott said his plan would also allow councils to surrender their administrative control to the states.
The Coalition has been developing its plan for the last year and so far all conservative governments and oppositions are supportive.
Mr Abbott said those that choose not to sign up would lose their competitive advantage as the existing process was gravely flawed and cumbersome.
Last week the Business Council of Australia (BCA) said that obtaining approvals for one major project had cost $25 million and involved 4000 meetings, briefings and presentations and the preparation of a 12,000-page report.
After two years, 1200 state and 300 commonwealth conditions were imposed with 8000 sub-conditions.
Under the Coalition proposal, residential and light industrial developers could be exempt from up to 70 per cent of their applications, which are current subject to two layers of laws, if they demonstrated they comply with certain criteria.
“The kind of green tape that has strangled residential development … will be slashed under the proposal,” Mr Abbott said in a speech to the Australian Industry Group in Brisbane.
Mr Abbott, who labelled himself a conservationist during his speech, said he had confidence that states and territories could be trusted not to be persuaded to approve mines because of royalties.
The BCA and the Australian Industry Group have both voiced support of the plan, however conservationists are outraged.
Greens leader Christine Milne said Mr Abbott was two-faced to call himself a conservationist whilst going out of his way to get rid environmental laws that had protected the icons of Australia.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) said environmental matters of “national significance” needed to be overseen by the Commonwealth.
If the Queensland government had made decisions about the Great Barrier Reef in the 1970s, the reef would now be dotted with oil rigs, he said.
Likewise, there would be a massive dam at Tasmania’s Franklin River if decisions about it had been left to the Tasmanian government.
