Question On Notice No. 3299 asked in the Legislative Council on 8 October 2020 by Hon Diane Evers
Question Directed to the: Minister for Environment
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to a recent ABC news article entitled ‘Esperance power station approval calls WA Government process into question’, and I ask:
(a) did the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation:
(i) speak directly to the Shire of Esperance when seeking comments on the proposed works approval;
(ii) receive any formal reply from the Shire regarding the proposed works approval:
(A) if yes to (ii), what was the reply; and
(B) if no to (ii), did the Department follow up;
(iii) take into account changes to working arrangements and operating hours due to Covid-19 when seeking a response in April 2020; and
(iv) conduct any forums consultation sessions directly with the community:
(A) if no to (iv), why not;
(b) what ‘community feedback’ was received that was ‘considered’; and
(c) why was a decision not deferred until Shire members had received adequate training given the Governments Development Assessment Panel's (DAP) website states ‘Local representation is a vital component of the DAP’?
Answered on 5 November 2020
(a)-(b) I am advised that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) undertook consultation on the Esperance power station works approval application in accordance with requirements of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act) and its guidance and procedures. This included a letter inviting comment from the Shire of Esperance dated 7 April 2020, the application being advertised on the DWER website for 21 days from 3 April 2020 and an advertisement in The West Australian inviting comment on 13 April 2020.
The Department received no submissions or comments, including from the Shire of Esperance. Given that there were no comments received, a community forum was not considered necessary.
(c) The Development Assessment Panel and training for Shire members are separate matters, not relevant to the decision-making processes under the EP Act. The works approval was granted in accordance with the EP Act and after the relevant planning approval was issued on 17 July 2020.