Whitby lauds new blood to speed WA environment approvals

When he became WA's environment minister, Reece Whitby was met by a frustrated "constant wall of noise" about tardy environmental approvals.

"As a new minister, you do the rounds, you go to the engagements … we knew there was an issue."

Whitby, who is also minister for energy and climate action, said WA not only had to clear a backlog of applications for environmental approvals but also prepare for a greater workload.

"Coming down the road is a tsunami of new projects inspired by green energy."

He said the scale of the problem required more than investment; it needed a change of culture in the agencies involved.

"People that have been at the desk doing the same thing for 15 years telling people why something can't be done instead of telling people how it can be done," he told an Energy Club of WA function on Thursday.

All the heads of the main agencies involved in environmental approvals - the Environmental Protection Authority, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and the Office of the Appeals Convenor have been replaced in the past 12 months.

"They’re bringing in fresh blood, fresh insights, fresh views, so things are changing."

Before that, the government commissioned a "short, sharp" review of approval processes in late 2023 - the Vogel-McFerran Report - that has been criticized for not consulting conservation groups.

Three years into the job, Whitby gets a different reception from proponents of new projects.

"We get positive feedback all the time from the industry, who've been delighted," he said.

Whitby said environmental standards had to be protected, but the process needed to be timely and efficient "without drawn out sagas or huge expense."

His comments came after a speech that reiterated the pro-development sales pitch launched by the Cook government a year ago: WA cannot reduce its greenhouse gas emissions because it must produce gas to replace coal and mine materials such as lithium to make the renewable energy infrastructure the world needs.

"I think there's a very narrow attitude about everyone having to get to a certain target … we’ll get to 43 per cent (emissions reduction) in 2030 as a national economy, but we won't be getting to 43 per cent in WA."

The speech came a week after reports suggested WA Premier Roger Cook influenced Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to quash a deal his environment minister Tanya Plibersek made with the Greens to pass environmental reforms Labor had promised at the last federal election.

"We’re working with our friends in the Federal Government because we believe we can assist them to get to good outcomes," he said,

"At the leadership (level) in the federal government, there is an appreciation of WA's role in the national economy and how critical that is.

"We’ll continue to remind them."

⚡️WA Labor's rapid-fire green shake-up

October 2023 - inquiry launched
The government commissions a “short, sharp review” of environmental approvals processes by Dr Paul Vogel and David McFerran.

December 2023 - inquiry completed
Six weeks later, the WA government published a list of recommendations from the Vogel McFerran. It did not release the full report.

January 2024 - Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
Alistair Jones started as director general of the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Jones came from the Department of Treasury, where he was Assistant Under Treasurer of the Economic Business Unit.

July 2024 - Office of the Appeals Convenor
Eve Drain appointed Appeals Convenor. Previously, Drain led BHP Iron Ore’s environmental approvals team.

October 2024 - Environmental Protection Act
Reforms to Act passed in parliament.

October & November 2024 - Environmental Protection Authority
Darren Walsh appointed EPA chair. Walsh was an environmental approvals and planning consultant on the EPA board since November 2023. After the new legislation increased its size, three new members were appointed to the EPA board.