ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (COST RECOVERY) REGULATIONS 2021
375. Hon TJORN SIBMA to the minister representing the
Minister for Environment:
I
refer to following assessment of the fee structure that operates under the
Environmental Protection (Cost Recovery) Regulations 2021 made by Mr
Chris Rodwell of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia that
were published in a Business News Western Australia article of 15 February
—
''The fees the state
government has begun charging businesses for environmental impact assessments
are the highest such fees anywhere in the nation.
(1) Are these fees the state
government is charging the highest such fee anywhere in the nation?
(2) If yes, why is the government
charging these uncompetitive fees?
(3) If no, how is Mr Rodwell
inaccurate?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided by the Minister
for Environment.
(1)–(3) The
pricing model for part IV cost recovery under the Environmental Protection
(Cost Recovery) Regulations 2021 has been developed in accordance with the
state government's Guidelines for the costing and pricing of
government services (2015) and reflects the need for a fair and reasonable
true cost of services. Prior to undertaking consultation on the draft
cost-recovery model, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
engaged Ernst and Young Australia to undertake a pricing and demand validation exercise and provide a final report.
Ernst and Young found that the methodology and assumptions applied by
DWER in its pricing and demand management models were logical and reasonable,
and this final validation report was tabled last year. I refer to tabled paper
978.
DWER will use the funding received
through cost recovery to provide an effective service to proponents by building
capacity in periods of high demand, while ensuring that strong environmental
protections remain. It is expected that the 18-month review of the part IV
cost-recovery program in mid-2023 will capture and reflect an updated cost of
services, incorporating regulatory efficiencies appropriately.