The Australian oil and gas industry has condemned as "anti-development" federal legislation passed by the Senate Wednesday which introduces new regulation of coal and coalseam gas projects that impact water resources.
"This law will add huge costs to business and government, yet deliver no environmental gain," according to Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association CEO David Byers.
The so-called federal "water trigger" regulation is in direct contravention of a 2012 agreement by the Council of Australian Governments to minimize duplication in environmental approvals processes and "has more to do with politics than science," APPEA said. Previously, environmental regulation of coalseam gas projects was the responsibility of state governments.
"The fact that a bill so widely acknowledged as anti-business -- and so widely derided as being politically-motivated -- can be waived through the Senate sends a terrible message," Byers said. "The anti-development underpinnings of this bill reflect poorly on the desirability of Australia as a place to do business," he added.
"The development of a bill guided by environmental -- rather than political -- objectives would have included consultation with affected industry, a regulatory impact statement and cooperation with state and territory governments. But contrary to the fundamental objectives of the Act, the government has in this instance moved to actively exclude state governments from future bilateral agreements on this matter," Byers said.
"Green tape, regulatory and fiscal uncertainty, and threats of market intervention each compound to undermine the confidence required to deliver the next wave of Australia's resources boom," he added. "With the Bureau of Energy and Resource Economics recently reporting that around A$150 billion [$142 billion] of high value energy and resource projects have been delayed or cancelled since April 2012 -- and the Grattan Institute only this week highlighting the urgent need to cut green tape -- now is the time to remove regulatory hurdles; not build new ones."
