Former Member for New England Tony Windsor is urging Senate cross benchers to retain the water trigger legislation, amid concerns the Abbott government is attempting to water it down.
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The legislation will be debated in Parliament this week, with the federal government aiming to remove red tape and deliver a one-stop-shop for environmental approvals by accrediting state planning authorities to make those decisions that would previously have required the Commonwealth to assess the impacts on water resources.
It was introduced by the former New England MP as part of an amendment to the Environmental Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Legislation (EPBC) towards the end of the previous Parliament and received majority support.
The legislation allows for impacts of proposed coal seam gas and large coal mining developments on water resources to be comprehensively assessed at the national level and gives the national minister the capacity to set appropriate conditions as part of the approvals process.
Mr Windsor believes however, the federal government is attempting to “water it down” under the guise of cutting red tape, and removing the water trigger would be a “retrograde step”.
“Those who believe that removing Commonwealth scrutiny will lead to a quicker approval process will be sadly mistaken,” Mr Windsor said.
“Any policy that doesn’t have the confidence of the community will eventually fail . We need to maintain an independent process that people trust.”
The former independent MP said the loss of faith by the community in relation to the previous state-based decision making processes demanded that a national approach was preferable when making these decisions.
He added that “given that after more than 100 years the Commonwealth and state governments have finally agreed on an across-border Murray Darling Basin process of resolving issues, it is absurd to revert to a state-based arrangement for extractive industries that could impact on water quality, end of valley flows, water budgets, consumptive use and existing land uses.
“Given the deteriorating trust of government generally the Senate has the opportunity to maintain one thread of that trust and avoid any potential civil unrest,” Mr Windsor said.