The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCI) welcomes the State Government’s approval of BHP’s Pilbara Expansion Strategic Proposal which unlocks investment and creates WA jobs.

This is a major step forward in creating thousands of jobs for West Australians and boosting the State’s economy.

Blockages and inefficiencies with environmental approvals are consistently highlighted as a key concern by our members. This hurts the economy by wasting resources, delaying new projects and discouraging business investment, ultimately costing WA jobs.

A more strategic approach to environmental approvals will provide more certainty for project proponents, unlock investment opportunities and make it easier to boost jobs at a time when we have the second highest unemployment rate in country.

Today’s announcement shows that the State Government has listened closely to job creating businesses and is helping to clear roadblocks to get more people back into work.

We must continue to work to reduce red and green tape for all businesses, and I hope to drive that through Streamline WA as a Steering Committee member.

Streamline WA provides an important platform for developing and implementing innovative approaches to regulation for the benefit of all West Australians.

This is critical given today’s release of our latest WA Super–CCI Business Confidence Survey, which revealed that WA’s business confidence has fallen for the second quarter in a row and 72 per cent of businesses plan to reduce their staff levels or keep them the same.

CCI looks forward to continuing to work with the State Government and our members to identify opportunities for regulatory reform to grow our economy and make it easier to create jobs in this State.