Lawyers slam ‘ad hoc’ bill that would give WA’s premier major powers

3 months ago 19

Western Australia’s peak legal body has taken aim at a new bill granting Premier Roger Cook extraordinary major project approval powers, claiming it will hinder lawyers’ ability to advise their clients on proposed developments.

The Law Society of WA has sent a letter to the premier, seen by this masthead, sounding the alarm over the looming State Development Bill being able to allow ministers to “override conventional environmental protection safeguards and the related statutory approval processes”.

West Australian Premier Roger Cook and Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti.

The society “generally supports” the introduction of state development areas and the creation of the office of coordinator-general, the letter revealed, but that was in “stark contrast to the ad hoc, special rules for priority projects and highly discretionary regime” proposed elsewhere in the bill.

“For the Society’s members and other legal practitioners practising in this area, the wide discretionary nature of the powers conferred on ministers and the coordinator-general by the bill, means it will be difficult to give accurate advice on the practical application of the legislation to clients on any side of proposed development,” the letter, signed by Law Society of WA president Gary Mack, said.

The letter outlined nine major concerns the society held about the bill, and was forwarded to Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas and WA Greens leader Brad Pettit.

The State Development Bill has emphatic backing from industry, with hopes it will improve WA’s flagging investment confidence, but has frightened conservation groups who decried it as anti-democratic and open to abuse by fossil-fuel proponents.

The bill contains “modification orders” which empower the state development minister – a portfolio Cook currently holds – to remove portions of approval processes enshrined in legislation.

The Environmental Defenders Office believes this could include removing the need for aspects of Environmental Protection Act assessments to apply to projects.

The minister must deem the modification order necessary to speed up approval of a priority project and be comfortable it can still be regulated effectively.

Pettit told this masthead it was incumbent on both the state government and the opposition to support a committee inquiry into the legal ramifications of the bill, which he labelled “anti-democratic”.

“The Greens will be doing just that when parliament resumes next week because this government has proven that they cannot be trusted with such extraordinary powers,” he said.

“The State Development Bill would give the premier diabolical new powers to override 40 existing laws to fast-track new projects he decides are a priority.

“There are no publicly available criteria for deciding on priority projects, it all rests on the premier’s opinion.”

The WA Greens have submitted proposed amendments to the bill and have said they would like to work with the state government to ensure the legislation excludes new coal, oil or gas infrastructure, protects critical habitat, biodiversity and water and “provides better oversight and stops the concentration of power”.

Pettit said the government had a “track record of failing to protect the environment and failing to protect Aboriginal heritage whilst bending over backwards for big gas corporations and mining companies”.

“This is pretty simple: Premier Roger Cook cannot be trusted to listen to the community, stand up to big corporations like Woodside and Alcoa, and protect our environment.”

But a state government spokesperson said, like all legislation introduced, the bill included a range of transparency measures, including reporting and tabling requirements, public consultation, and the ability for parliament to disallow modification orders.

“The bill also includes checks and balances to ensure effective environmental, planning and heritage protections are maintained,” they said.

“It does not infringe on the independence of government agencies like the EPA or the Cultural Heritage Committee, which cannot be issued with due regard or joint decision notices.

“The bill is critical to the government’s vision for Western Australia to remain the strongest economy in the nation and the best place in the world to get a quality job, which is why it is focused on passing this legislation by the end of the year.”

The spokesperson said the Law Society of WA was welcome to seek a meeting with Cook to discuss the bill further.

with Hamish Hastie