"Streamlining" environmental approvals for offshore gas and storing carbon deep under the sea floor remain central to a contentious federal government gas strategy.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
A Senate committee learned on Thursday that Resources Minister Madeleine King continues to pursue the power to green-light projects, after investors were spooked by legal challenges to Woodside Energy's Scarborough project and Santos' Barossa pipeline.
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources confirmed changes to offshore approval requirements would return to parliament as an "important" part of the national gas strategy.
The Labor government "remains committed to streamlining", department oil and gas division head Robert Jeremenko told the committee hearing in Canberra on Thursday.
But there may be other ways to achieve it, according to National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority chief executive Sue McCarrey.
She said reforms to regulations would provide certainty to investors and First Nations stakeholders, and would not cause approvals to take longer.
Proposed to speed up environmental approval processes, which include some duplication of cultural heritage considerations, the amendments were recently pulled from parliament after a political deal with the Greens to pass other legislation.
The Greens had slammed the proposed changes as a "blank cheque to bypass environment laws and silence First Nations voices", but coalition senator Susan McDonald dismissed the dumping of the reforms as a "grubby deal".
Known as "Schedule 2 Part 2", it was designed to carve out offshore gas from the national environmental protection regime by delegating powers to the resources minister to approve new projects.
Meanwhile, the offshore petroleum authority's guidelines for consultation and preparing environment plans, under existing laws, were recently updated following the dismissal of a case against Santos.
Australian Associated Press
