Environmentalists and traditional owners have voiced concern about a “dangerous” and “unprecedented” move they say would hand the Northern Territory’s chief minister “extraordinary powers” to sidestep environmental approvals.
Opposition Leader Selena Uibo tabled the leaked consultation paper in parliament on Thursday, describing it as a “secret” proposal circulated to only a select few stakeholders.
The paper sets out a scheme for the government’s promised independent office of the Territory Coordinator, whose role would be to fast-track major economic projects in consultation with the minister.
It proposes legislation giving the Minister for the Territory Coordinator broad powers to modify the legal framework used to assess projects under an “exemption notice”.
That power would apply both where there is a “duplication” of the statutory processes a project is assessed under and where “strict compliance” is deemed “unnecessary or problematic”.
The appointed Territory Coordinator and the minister would also hold the power to “step in” and take over the assessment process from other approval bodies.
Lia Finocchiaro said the proposal was not final and MLAs and community members would have the opportunity to provide feedback. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)
The Territory Coordinator’s powers would also include the ability to order approval bodies to prioritise a particular decision or order them to speed up the process.
The document contains specific examples of “hypothetical applications of the proposed model”, including “large scale renewables projects” and “significant agriculture or horticulture projects”, as well as “onshore gas development scenarios in the Beetaloo sub-basin”.
“An onshore gas development may also be considered as an example, where diverse regulatory requirements require coordination and streamlining to support delivery of a project that will provide Territory community and economic benefit, alongside important energy security outcomes,” it reads.
“The provisions included in the proposed TC Bill offer some solutions to support the progression of these projects, that would otherwise not be available.”
Proposal branded an ’embarrassment, nationally and internationally’
Kirsty Howey from the Environment Centre NT said the proposal would give Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro — who currently also holds the role of Territory Coordinator Minister — “unprecedented” control over environmental approvals.
“What’s particularly egregious about these laws is that they appear to hand extraordinary powers to an unnamed, faceless bureaucrat and the chief minister herself to do what they like with projects,” she said.
“[It] could see environmentally destructive projects like fracking, land clearing and water extraction for cotton streamlined, fast-tracked and actually exempted from environmental laws all together.
“The chief minister is not the environmental protection agency and nor should she try to be.
“It will be an embarrassment, nationally and internationally, if these laws pass.”
Northern Land Council (NLC) chairman Matthew Ryan described the proposal as “very dangerous for all Territorians”.
“Our people across the seven regions want to see the big decisions that impact us all made safely with real community consultation — not just rushed through this appointed boss,” he said in a statement.
Matthew Ryan labelled the proposed changes “very dangerous”. (Supplied: NLC/Wayne O’Donoghue)
“The Top End is already littered with damaging projects that didn’t have the proper regulatory processes, from Redbank to Rum Jungle.
“What we really need are better, transparent and properly resourced regulatory bodies, instead of more shortcuts behind closed doors.”
Mr Ryan said the NLC would be making a submission on the proposal and would have “more to say” once it had seen the draft laws.
Role flagged before the August poll
The Country Liberal Party (CLP) promised to introduce the Territory Coordinator role before the election, to cut red tape for major investment projects.
“We are gearing up to kick start economic growth and the Territory Coordinator will play a key role in that,” Ms Finocchiaro said in a statement released late on Thursday.
But Dr Howey said the CLP made no mention of the “exemption notices” power in a bill for the Territory Coordinator it introduced while in opposition.
“While the Territory Coordinator was mentioned in the lead-up to the election, there was nothing specific said about broad-ranging powers to exempt environmentally destructive projects from environmental laws all together,” she said.
“They should have been brought to the attention of the electorate before the election.”
Ms Finocchiaro said the proposal was not final and all members of the Legislative Assembly “and the community” would be able to provide feedback on the law once it had been introduced.
“My department is currently doing targeted consultation with a range of groups, including the land councils, local government, Environment Protection Authority, Controller of Water Resources and the Heritage Council, yet somehow Labor wants to kill economic growth before it even happens,” she said.
