ENVIRONMENT
— NATIONAL STANDARDS
858. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to the federal environment
minister's comments on 31 August 2020, as reported by Fairfax media
outlets, in which she said —
''No
state is going to secure the right to make approvals without signing up to
binding Commonwealth-led national standards as part of the bilateral
agreement, and without showing that it can meet the provisions of the agreement
�
(1) When has
the minister, or his office, discussed these national standards referred to by
the federal environment minister?
(2) What are the national standards
that are being proposed by the federal government?
(3) What funding arrangements have
been discussed in relation to national standards?
(4) What implications do these national standards have
on the amendment bill to WA's Environmental Protection Act 1986
currently before the Legislative Council?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) My office
engages regularly with the office of the federal Minister for the Environment
on wideranging matters. I am advised that
national standards have been incidentally discussed, although I am yet to
formally engage with the federal minister on this issue.
(2)–(4) The
federal government has not provided Western Australia with any endorsed
national standards for consideration.