ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AUTHORITY — GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS —CONSULTATION
222. Hon TIM CLIFFORD to the Minister for Environment:
After pressure from the government
and media, the Environmental Protection Authority withdrew its greenhouse gas
guidelines last week. Tom Hatton, chairman of the EPA, has stated that
additional consultations will be conducted to clarify the interpretation of the
guidelines with industry. I would like to understand what commitment the
government has toward climate change and toward supporting the EPA to reinstate
these regulations.
(1) Will the government
provide additional resources to the EPA services to ensure that the
consultations can be fast-tracked; and, if yes, please describe these extra
resources; and, if not, why not?
(2) How many
staff work exclusively for EPA services and which of these staff will be made
available to work on amending and finalising the greenhouse gas guidelines?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. I strongly disagree with his premise that the
government pressured the EPA. The EPA is an independent statutory authority
that makes recommendations to government.
(1) The
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation provides resources to support
the Environmental Protection Authority. The department will reprioritise
resourcing to assist the Environmental Protection Authority with the
consultation of the greenhouse gas guidance as appropriate.
(2) Currently, 43
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation staff provide dedicated
services to the Environmental Protection
Authority, of which three will be working closely with the Environmental
Protection Authority to finalise the greenhouse gas guidelines. Other
staff within the department will be providing technical and policy assistance,
as required.