Inquiry into the EES Process in Victoria
CMPA SECRETARIAT, Ken Norris, reports on the Environmental Effects Statement Process in Victoria.
THE ‘Inquiry into the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) Process in Victoria’ is run by the Parliamentary Environment and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by the Hon. John Pandazopoulos, MP. The CMPA presented a written submission to the Inquiry and attended one day of Public Hearings.
No written or verbal submissions to the Inquiry suggested the current EES process works satisfactorily. But opinions vary on its value: some professionals support the Victorian EES model as the best in Australia requiring only tinkering at the edges; but an academic from Perth can’t understand the Victorian process to decide whether it is good or not.
The CMPA and other industry bodies pointed out the flaws:
- Lack of rigorous time-lines
- Expense
- Lack of finality when the EES process does not satisfy all statutory requirements e.g. of the EPA and Australian Government
- Political interference even if a proposal has overwhelming technical support
- No appeals process
Community group submissions (the majority) protest the inadequacy of a process that doesn’t deliver ‘environmental protection’; most community groups want more authority through the EES process to prevent development. But, as others pointed out, the assumption that community groups can stop development is oft en delusional and is a fault of the EES process; for large infrastructure projects where the government is the proponent, the decision to proceed is already made — consequently the EES process is a waste of everyone’s time and creates unnecessary, protracted antagonism.
But don’t hold your breath for change. The government itself commissioned a thorough review of the Environmental Effects Act in 2002 and implemented none of its recommendations. In a verbal submission, a group of lawyers suggested the Parliamentary Committee should push for implementation of the recommendations of the last review and not waste time asking for yet another opinion.
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