Question On Notice No. 2669 asked in the Legislative Council on 19 November 2019 by Hon Robin Chapple
Question Directed to the: Minister for Regional Development representing the Minister for Mines and Petroleum
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Tabled Paper No: 3488-
View tabled paper
Question
I refer to the Government’s implementation plan on fracking, and I ask:
(a) according to Action 2, the Government will "Define, and identify ‘places of iconic natural heritage’ within, and in the vicinity of, onshore petroleum titles existing as of 26 November 2018." and "Release proposed list of ‘places of iconic natural heritage’ for public comment and feedback via the Implementation Plan website." by October 2019. Has the Government done this;
(b) if no to (a), why not;
(c) if no to (a), when will the Government release the proposed list of "places of iconic natural heritage" for public comment and feedback via the Implementation Plan website;
(d) according to Action 3, the Government will "Ensure appropriate and adequate community consultation for acreage releases associated with hydraulic fracturing." by October 2019. Has this been done;
(e) if no to (d), why not;
(f) if no to (d), when will this be done;
(g) according to Action 4, the Government will "Develop a hydraulic fracturing stakeholder engagement and consultation guide covering whole of project lifecycle for industry and Government." and "Determine stakeholder engagement and consultation opportunities in a project lifecycle." and "Draft hydraulic fracturing stakeholder engagement and consultation guide." and "Release the draft guide for public comment and feedback via the Implementation Plan website." by October 2019. Has the Government released the draft guide for public comment and feedback via the Implementation Plan website;
(h) if no to (g), why not;
(i) if no to (g), when will this be done;
(j) according to Action 5a, the Government will "Introduce a requirement for consent of relevant Traditional Owners before hydraulic fracture stimulation production is permitted." and "Release draft process and procedure documentation for considering Traditional Owners’ consent via the Implementation Plan website" by December 2020. When will the Government release draft process and procedure documentation for considering Traditional Owners’ consent via the Implementation Plan website;
(k) according to Action 12 the Government will "Establish a central point of contact within Western Australian Government agencies for hydraulic fracture stimulation non-compliance complaints." and "inform stakeholders via the Implementation Plan website once the action is completed.". Has this action been completed and when was it put on the Implementation website;
(l) if the action in (k) has not been completed, why not, and when will it be completed;
(m) according to Action 16 the Government will "Ensure better separation of the auditing and compliance, and the promotion of the petroleum industry." by April 2019. Has this action been undertaken and when were stakeholders informed about the change via the Implementation Plan website;
(n) if Action 16 has not been completed, why not; and
(o) if Action 16 has not been completed, when will it be completed?
Answered on 4 December 2019
(a) – (o)
The State Government published its first progress report on the Implementation Plan website on 31 October 2019, providing an update of progress on all actions. See tabled paper [ ] for a copy of that progress report, which is freely available via the Government’s dedicated website for communicating updates relating to implementing Government’s policy on hydraulic fracture stimulation.