Cook raises native title concerns

Premier Roger Cook has told a mining lunch Canberra should shelve its ‘nature positive’ reforms while admitting native title issues are blocking development of major industrial estates in regional Western Australia.

In a wide-ranging address to a Chamber of Minerals & Energy of WA lunch, Mr Cook also said a lot more consultation was needed before the government could map out its plans for the state’s energy system.

And he was diplomatic when asked about the federal government’s industrial relations reforms, which the CME says pose a major risk for its members.

In its pre-budget submission, the CME highlighted a number of challenges facing the sector, including lower commodity prices and higher costs.

It also pointed to policy settings that have increased uncertainty and threaten to reduce productivity and delay projects.

These include slow progress on transitioning energy networks, protracted delays in obtaining regulatory approvals, and industrial relations reforms and uncertainty regarding environment and heritage settings at a federal level.

The CME called for the called for the urgent release of a draft master transmission plan for the Sout West Interconnected System.

It also called for the provision of project-ready or ‘turnkey’ industrial precincts across WA to support private investment.

Mr Cook highlighted the WA government’s $500 million commitment to invest in strategic industrial areas, including at Oakajee, Kemerton and Ashburton.

He revealed an unexpected issue at Boodarie (near Port Hedland) and Maitland (near Karratha).

“There is one elephant in the room and that is some of the native title issues that we confront at Boodarie and Maitland,” Mr Cook said.

“That’s a concern.

“The issue that’s holding us back is that today we have ninety per cent of the state’s native title issues resolved.

“What that means is that we no longer have, say, six or eight large Aboriginal land councils that can manage the pace of business investment.

“We now have a very large number of smaller prescribed bodies corporate that lack the bandwidth to deal with the consultation with industry that is coming down the line.

“I think the government has a role to play to help facilitate that process.”

The very same issue has been impacting the development schedule for big miners and other project proponents.

Mr Cook was asked if the so-called nature positive laws, under which Canberra would have a greater say on environmental approvals, should be passed before next year’s federal election.

“No, not necessarily,” he replied.

“I think the poison that’s flowing in Canberra at the moment means we won’t get a good outcome around nature positive.”

He said neither Liberal leader Peter Dutton nor Greens leader Adam Bandt was likely to accommodate a compromise.

“If we walk away from it at the moment, go to the election, get clarity around who has got a mandate to do what, then get on with the job,” Mr Cook said.

Meanwhile, the premier confirmed that the WA government’s reforms to environmental approvals laws would take effect from November 28.

Reforms to the Environmental Protection Act are designed to speed up approvals.

The new laws allow other government regulators to process and issue their own approvals while Environmental Protection Authority assessments are under way.

Mr Cook counselled patience in regard to the CME’s urgent call for a SWIS upgrade plan.

“Just as we did for other major projects, the planning, the surveys, the consultation and the approvals need to be done first,” Mr Cook said.

Asked about the federal government’s industrial relations reforms, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended in a Queensland speech today, Mr Cook was diplomatic towards his fellow Labor member.

“Albo gets WA, he understands where the wealth comes from,” Mr Cook said.

“The federal government is trying to calibrate its policy settings to meet the expectations of a changing world.”

He declined to say if it had the balance right.