Environment groups have described a Morrison government plan to remove the need for federal environmental approval for developments in some regions as a “step towards an industry free-for-all” rather than an effort to protect nature.
The government announced on Monday night it would use a little-known section of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act to establish what are known as regional plans.
Under the law the environment minister may create regional plans and exempt certain developments – such as mining or agriculture – from the requirement to gain individual federal environmental approval in areas covered by a plan.
The government has committed $62.3m in the budget to establishing plans in up to 10 yet-to-be-chosen regions as part of its push to reduce environmental bureaucracy.
The announcement is part of a larger $128.5m package that also includes $37.9m for further streamlining of environmental assessments and $12m to modernise environmental offsets policy.
The Wilderness Society (TWS) said it was deeply concerned the Coalition was pledging funding with the apparent aim of “circumventing environment protections for some of Australia’s most iconic and sensitive natural landscapes and wildlife”.
“Given the government’s track record, we’re concerned that this seems like yet another step towards granting an industry free-for-all [rather] than an effort to protect nature,” said Suzanne Milthorpe, the national environment law manager for TWS.
Since last year, legislation that would clear the way for the government to hand its environmental decision-making powers to state and territory governments has been blocked by the senate, in part because the Morrison government has not adopted a set of national environmental standards recommended by a review of national laws.
Milthorpe said the new announcement was “consistent with the continued attempts to get around the parliament and effectively achieve bilateral agreements by stealth”.
“There’s been 20 years of government reviews, audits and state of the environment reports all saying the one thing: Australia’s wildlife and natural landscapes are being destroyed because our environment laws are being sidelined in favour of fossil fuel and developer interests.”
At a media conference in Mackay in Queensland on Tuesday, the environment minister, Sussan Ley, said if implemented, regional plans would have the effect of completing the environmental assessment and approval stages upfront, “rather than every single project starting their homework from the beginning”.
She said it would give developers assurance their projects could proceed but there would be “no backwards step” for the environment.
“Every part of this announcement is about making the environment more protected … but also recognising the effect that those awful delays have had on jobs and development,” she said.
Tania Constable, the chief executive of the Minerals Council of Australia, said the changes would “help provide greater certainty for businesses to invest in regional Australia, supporting local communities, jobs and furthering sustainable development”.
Andrew McConville, the chief executive of the oil and gas industry’s peak body, the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association, said the announcement would result in “better environmental protection while reducing the costly regulatory burden on business”.
The government has not announced any of the locations for its proposed regional plans, though the resources minister, Keith Pitt, has signalled his desire for Queensland’s Bowen basin to be considered.
Establishing the plans will not be straightforward and will require cooperation from the relevant state or territory governments.
Federal environment department officials told a senate estimates hearing last month that the location for a proposed pilot of a regional plan – funded in last year’s budget – still had not been chosen because conversations with a willing state or territory had not advanced.
Freedom of information documents released to Guardian Australia last month show environment officials, as well as stakeholders who were consulted late last year, have also asked how compliance with environmental law would be enforced under a regional plan.
In responses to separate questions from Guardian Australia, Ley’s spokesperson said the locations would be finalised after further discussions with the states and territories and would be selected across “differing bioregions and geographies”.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) called for more information from the government about its proposed regional planning approach and where the 10 priority areas would be.
Sophie Power, the ACF’s biodiversity policy adviser, said regional planning had merits if it was used to improve the environment of a whole area.
“We are concerned the government’s approach appears to focus on making things easier for resource extraction industries, rather than protecting nature,” Power said.
Rebecca Vassarotti is a Greens member of the Australian Capital Territory’s legislative assembly and is the environment minister in the territory’s Labor-Greens government.
She said it had been more than a year since the federal government received the final report from the Samuel review, which found successive Australian governments had failed to protect the environment.
“To this day, the Morrison government has still not formally responded,” she said.
“Instead, we now see it has focused on looking to exploit a loophole in the EPBC Act to allow major projects to bypass federal environmental assessments through regional plans.”
Vassarotti said the federal approvals process was important because it helped put environmental assessments by state and territory governments in a national context.
“While regional plans could in principle be a useful tool … the agenda for this announcement is entirely skewed towards removing this national context and relying solely on individual jurisdictional analysis.”
