Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston announced today the release of a discussion paper aimed at streamlining licencing processes in Western Australia’s (WA) mining sector.
The proposed Mining Development and Closure Proposals (MDCP) and Approvals Statements framework will streamline regulation, decrease administrative load, and generate efficiency in compliance management.
Minister Johnston stated that the WA Government remains dedicated to establishing best-practise regulatory frameworks that support responsible resource development.
“We very clearly recognise that an efficient and effective regulatory framework is essential for providing industry with the certainty required to make investment decisions. While we are working hard to streamline the regulation of WA’s mining sector, at no point will we compromise on environmental and social standards,” Minister Johnston said.
According to the State Government, the MDCP will be a single document that will boost the efficiency of mining operations applications and assessments by eliminating the duplicate information necessary under the existing approach.
The addition of an Approvals Statement will further decrease redundancy by consolidating approved activities and conditions of a mining operation in a single document.
After the Legislative Council introduced and approved the Mining Amendment Bill 2021 in September 2022, the 12-week public consultation begins. This legislation is an essential aspect of the McGowan Government’s continuous effort to remove red tape and make doing business in the State easier.
Stakeholders are urged to submit comments since it will help shape the framework and the drafting of prospective revisions to the Mining Regulations 1981.
The public input period ends at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 1 August 2023.
