The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Bilateral Agreement

Implementation) Bill 2014 before the Committee is designed to facilitate the hand-over of Commonwealth environmental approval powers to the states. The Wentworth Group welcomes this opportunity to state its opposition to the handover of Commonwealth powers, and to propose alternative mechanisms that it believes will both reduce regulatory burden and duplication for business and deliver better environmental outcomes. It is possible to promote new development, grow the economy and create jobs without causing further environmental degradation. This is the position of the Business Council of Australia, the Minerals Council of Australia and the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association. Their joint submission to the recent House of Representatives inquiry into streamlining environmental regulation states: “ … there does not need to be a trade-off between environmental outcomes and economic growth and industry development”.1 The Wentworth Group agrees and encourages this inquiry to support such a finding. By far the most effective way to reduce regulatory burden and duplication for business, and at the same time deliver better environmental outcomes for Australia, is to: Develop long-term regional strategic plans to guide land use and natural resource management; Put in place transparent national science-based standards so that new development does not significantly impact threatened species; Streamline and coordinate assessment processes; an