DEPARTMENT OF MINES,
INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY — APPROVALS PROCESS
850. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the minister representing the
Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
At the 2019 Diggers and Dealers
conference held recently in Kalgoorlie, a consistent theme of speakers was
complaints of government red tape for approvals.
(1) Does the
minister now concede that following overwhelming demand from the industry there
is an urgent need to review Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
processes, with a view to expediting approvals of applications?
(2) On what basis
does the minister state, as he has, that Western Australia has the best
approvals process in the world?
(3) Why is the
minister reluctant to impose stricter time lines on the department to drive
efficiency and productivity for our mining industry?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the question.
The following information has been provided by the Minister for Mines and
Petroleum.
(1) No.
(2) For several
years, the Fraser Institute annual survey of mining companies has rated Western
Australia in the top five mining jurisdictions in the world. Although there is
always room for improvement, I believe Western Australia's regulatory
regime for mining activity is a key to our success as a mining state.
(3) The
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has publicly available time
lines for approvals, which are reported quarterly, indicating an efficient and
timely approval process. The latest published information indicates that 90 per
cent of applications were finalised within the approval target time lines. The
department undertakes a continuous improvement approach to the regulatory
framework and is considering a number of improvements, including greater use of
online systems and working with applicants to ensure that comprehensive and
quality information is provided to deliver reduced approval time frames. Under
the government's Streamline WA initiative, the department is working
with the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and with industry to
identify reform proposals for mining and environment regulation.