❓ The Minister for Mines and Petroleum outlines the government's efforts to reduce regulatory burden on the resources sector, specifically by extending the validity period for program of works applications from two to four years.
AnsweredQoN 631Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND PETROLEUM — PROGRAM
OF WORKS APPLICATIONS
631. Mr M.H. TAYLOR to the Minister for
Mines and Petroleum:
Will the minister please update the house on the Liberal–National
government's efforts in reducing regulatory burden on the resources
sector?
OF WORKS APPLICATIONS
631. Mr M.H. TAYLOR to the Minister for
Mines and Petroleum:
Will the minister please update the house on the Liberal–National
government's efforts in reducing regulatory burden on the resources
sector?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Bateman for
the question. It is a very good
question. I have attended a number of mining and petroleum-related conferences,
forums and seminars in the last couple of months and the topic of red tape has
come up continuously. Indeed, it is a very important issue, because our
competitiveness in the world scene is under threat due to a lot of exploration
in other countries. Indeed, Western Australian companies are investing in
Africa, Central America and South America. This is of concern, obviously, because
we would like those Western Australian and Australian companies to invest in
exploration in Western Australia. What are we doing about it? We are reviewing
our current processes right through the Department of Mines and Petroleum and
getting some early runs on the board. We have seen that we can get some early
runs on the board through our program of works. Currently, the regulations
require every mining company to put in a program of works every two years. It
used to be every 12 months but last year we changed it to every two years. We
have now decided that we can make the validity period for the program of works
last for four years. To give an example of what that means to the workload of
the department, let alone the workload of the mining companies that have to
fill in these forms, between January 2009 and 30 June 2013, which is a
four-and-a-half-year period, the Department of Mines and Petroleum received 10 000
program of works applications. That is an enormous workload. Indeed, in the
first two quarters of this year alone there were 1 160 program of works
applications. Increasing the validity period from two years to four years will
significantly reduce the number of applications that the department has to
process.
Ms M.M. Quirk : Has anything changed from your press
release of 18 September?
The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, you are now on three and a half!
Several members interjected.
Mr
W.R. MARMION : The Liberal–National government is listening to
industry about the issues it has with red tape. We are looking at our processes
and seeing where they can be streamlined. We intend to make mining businesses
in Western Australia more competitive so that we get more mining companies
investing in Western Australia rather than overseas.
the question. It is a very good
question. I have attended a number of mining and petroleum-related conferences,
forums and seminars in the last couple of months and the topic of red tape has
come up continuously. Indeed, it is a very important issue, because our
competitiveness in the world scene is under threat due to a lot of exploration
in other countries. Indeed, Western Australian companies are investing in
Africa, Central America and South America. This is of concern, obviously, because
we would like those Western Australian and Australian companies to invest in
exploration in Western Australia. What are we doing about it? We are reviewing
our current processes right through the Department of Mines and Petroleum and
getting some early runs on the board. We have seen that we can get some early
runs on the board through our program of works. Currently, the regulations
require every mining company to put in a program of works every two years. It
used to be every 12 months but last year we changed it to every two years. We
have now decided that we can make the validity period for the program of works
last for four years. To give an example of what that means to the workload of
the department, let alone the workload of the mining companies that have to
fill in these forms, between January 2009 and 30 June 2013, which is a
four-and-a-half-year period, the Department of Mines and Petroleum received 10 000
program of works applications. That is an enormous workload. Indeed, in the
first two quarters of this year alone there were 1 160 program of works
applications. Increasing the validity period from two years to four years will
significantly reduce the number of applications that the department has to
process.
Ms M.M. Quirk : Has anything changed from your press
release of 18 September?
The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, you are now on three and a half!
Several members interjected.
Mr
W.R. MARMION : The Liberal–National government is listening to
industry about the issues it has with red tape. We are looking at our processes
and seeing where they can be streamlined. We intend to make mining businesses
in Western Australia more competitive so that we get more mining companies
investing in Western Australia rather than overseas.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.