New Government Initiative for Environmental Assessments
On 13 May 2020, the Premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan announced the funding of the Environmental Online initiative and the establishment of a Biodiversity Information Office (BIO), led by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER).
The measures announced will streamline the environmental assessment and approval processes in Western Australia and will minimise delays, in a bid to assist in the State’s post-pandemic recovery.
The initiatives will help accelerate the delivery of more than $100 billion worth of major projects in the development pipeline, as well as the jobs that come with them. Importantly, the initiatives will also ensure projects are delivered in an environmentally responsible way.
As environmental consultants working on projects already within the environmental approvals system, improvements in the timeliness of regulatory department responses is already noticeable. FVC congratulates the McGowan government on the allocation of funding and efforts towards these initiatives, that will not only boost the local economy via the acceleration of project delivery, but will enhance the protection of WA’s natural environment.