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Just before Christmas 2025, the WA Government enacted new legislation called the State Development Bill, which allows the Premier to fast track new development in WA.
Theoretically, this Bill will help the Premier and newly created Coordinator General role to streamline development application processes and reduce delays with environmental checks for large-scale industrial projects.
The position also grants the power to declare certain areas as priority zones. This means the government can push projects through quickly in these locations.
WHAT’S THE CATCH?
The Environmental Defenders Office claims the Bill is anti-democratic. This is because it concentrates a lot of power in the executive arm of government, creating a serious risk of undermining existing WA environmental laws.
However, the state government claims the Bill will be used for crucial green energy, critical mineral extractions, defence and important new infrastructure.
Credit: Leanne Davis CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons
Premier Roger Cook argued only projects with strategic significance to the state will be pushed through faster than usual.
The problem? The Bill grants full discretion to the Premier and State Development Minister to decide which projects are ‘strategically significant’.
Currently, Roger Cook occupies both positions.
Even if the current government does use this Bill to benefit WA’s environment, there’s little that could be done to stop a corrupt future government from exploitation.
A GREENER FUTURE?
Under the Bill, priority projects can be excluded from applying to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for approval.
Critics also claim the Coordinator General lacks sufficient accountability and has no safeguards against any conflict of interest.
One of the issues vigorously debated until 3am was a review period of 5 years, while those across the bench were pushing for the Bill to be reviewed after 2 years. In the end, the 5-year period progressed.
Credit: Orderinchaos CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons
Premier Roger Cook said he “won’t let WA be a laggard” and compared current policy to the equivalent of a long abandoned Blockbuster video store.
The legislation has been supported by industrialists, backing Cook’s stance that it will drive investment and growth.
The Bill has been labelled an attempt to balance nature and industry. Imagine how far ahead WA could be if we used this Bill for clean energy projects.
If the WA Government chooses to use these special parliamentary powers to decouple the burning of fossil fuels from the state economy, it seems likely these laws will be viewed positively in the future.
But if not …
