CCIWA has welcomed the State Government’s $120 million investment to help accelerate major project approvals in WA.

Premier Mark McGowan said the commitment, to be included in the 2021-22 State Budget, would fund more than 150 frontline officers in five agencies to speed up project approvals.

The extra resources have been allocated to the departments of: Planning, Lands and Heritage; Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS); Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions; Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation; and Water and Environmental Regulation.

The package includes DMIRS to deliver mining approval reform.

“Development in the mining, oil and gas, tourism and agricultural industries is vital to sustain economic growth and deliver WA jobs,” the Premier said.

“We are in the fortunate position of having the strongest economy in the nation, but we cannot be complacent as there are billions of dollars’ worth of capital projects in the approvals pipeline.”

CCIWA CEO Chris Rodwell said the announcement will help alleviate long-held concerns that the flow of business investment has often been restricted by a lack of appropriately skilled people in government to shepherd and approve major projects.

“It is critical that the WA Government provide full transparency on the impact of these additional resources. This includes reporting on the reduction in approval timeframes, as well as clarifying the resultant lift in business investment,” he said.

“It is also important that these resources are safeguarded from redeployment within each department and that they serve their intended purpose.”

Rodwell added: “CCIWA has strongly valued our role on Streamline WA, building upon and supporting other worthy initiatives to reduce the drain of bureaucracy upon WA enterprise, enabling them to get on with building their business and creating jobs.”

For advice and guidance on running your business contact CCIWA’s Employee Relations Advice Centre on (08) 9365 7660 or email [email protected].