State’s drilling dream sours budget approvals sweetener
Labor will offer states and territories more money as it tries to agree landmark environmental reforms, but a prime minister has vowed not to make it easy.
Tuesday’s federal budget will include more than $500 million in funding to enforce environmental laws, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it would help speed up approvals for housing, energy and critical mineral projects.
The Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, passed in late 2025 after a tumultuous five-year process, promised to reduce the layers of cheating that advocates had to seek approval from both provincial and state governments.
Dr Chalmers said the environmental regime would reduce compliance costs and reduce red tape, making construction easier and faster and making Australia a more attractive place for investment.
“More efficient approvals mean projects go live faster and get Australians into their homes quicker,” he said.
“This is a major investment that will make our economy more productive and help deliver important projects in housing, energy and critical minerals.”
But critical bilateral agreements that would give states greater authority to evaluate and approve both layers of regulation have not yet been signed; This means that not all the benefits of the reforms have been realized.
Part of the budget increase will go to states to undertake the extra approval efforts and fund the extra staff and resources needed to help persuade them to sign up.
The Albanian government has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Western Australia and is optimistic about signing bilateral agreements with other states, but negotiations with Queensland have stalled.
Prime Minister David Crisafulli continued his call for the federal government to reverse its decision to exclude oil exploration projects from access to use an expedited approval pathway under the law.
“Until we lift the dead hand (of the action), the ability to actually crack the Taroom Trough (oil basin) will be hampered,” he told reporters on Sunday.
The Queensland and federal governments have not been in talks on a new bilateral agreement for weeks.
The Commonwealth has warned that Queensland’s decision to launch a year-long state efficiency inquiry into the law could further delay implementation of the faster approval route.
On Sunday, the government announced the budget would include $2 billion to help states and territories build sewers, roads and other infrastructure that supports housing construction.
Peter Tulip, chief economist at the Center for Independent Studies, said it was one of the most cost-effective ways the Commonwealth could increase supply.
“This shows that the government is putting its money where its mouth is, which makes its messages more credible,” he told AAP.
