Thursday, 6 October, 1994.

(Speech on overhauling and improving Victorian and Australian environmental laws)
 

The theme of this annual conference, "Regulatory reform: what place for the environment?" is a highly relevant one, as the environment should not be a poor cousin in the field of regulatory reform.

Since the election of our Government two years ago we have embarked on a series of major environmental reforms which, without doubt, will shape environmental management in this State, and possibly Australia, for decades to come.

As is evident from the themes that will be discussed over the next three days, there is a real need to continually review existing environmental regulation and seek positive, productive improvements.

Today I want to discuss three policy initiatives that illustrate the Victorian Government's commitment to such reform and better environmental outcomes:

• accredited environmental licensing;
• coastal management; and
• national environment protection standards.

In simple terms, we have addressed these three diverse policy areas with a common purpose: to dust off the cobwebs of outdated legislative or regulatory practices and embrace modern ideas which will deliver sound environmental outcomes well into the next century.

1. The Accredited Environmental Licensee System

In the first weeks of our term of office I announced our intention to introduce a new, collaborative approach to environmental regulation involving businesses, governments and citizens.

This marked a shift away from the "end of pipe" approach to environmental regulation which had prevailed since the 1970s. This approach was suitable in the '70s, when the EPA was established, but a better way was needed for the new conditions of the 1990s.

The old approach of prescriptive regulation had run up against the law of diminishing returns - due largely to the inefficiency of such a regime in achieving the community's environmental expectations.

By focussing almost exclusively on controlling bad environmental performers, a "blind spot" had been created that saw the needs of environmental achievers being overlooked or left unrecognised. Under our new accredited licensee system, a fresh priority has been given to rewarding the good performers and providing genuine incentives for other companies to follow the lead of industry pace-setters.

Earlier this year the Victorian Parliament passed the Environment Protection (General Amendment) Act which ushers in this new era of environmental regulation in Victoria.

The new legislation enables the EPA to grant companies with a proven capability and commitment to environmental protection the status of accredited licensees.

These special licensees will have greater scope to manage their environmental performance in the most cost-effective manner, with savings from a streamlined licence which: outlines broad performance criteria for the site as a whole; requires no works approval within licence conditions (except for significant works); and reduces overall licence fees.

All these benefits are to be achieved within existing standards set by State Environment Protection Policies and Industrial Waste Management Policies.

While standards are unaffected, the accredited licensee system introduces a flexible, performance-oriented licensing system which builds on quality assurance approaches being adopted by industry.

Checks and balances will be provided by the prerequisites of:

• third-party accreditation of environment management systems by independent bodies;
• an EPA-approved environment audit program involving an independent auditor;
• and implementation of an environment improvement planning process involving the local community.

Without these three elements, applicants will not be granted this special accreditation.

Checks and balances will also be provided through annual public performance reports signed by the site's senior executive and reviewed at least every five years. Companies which fail to meet these obligations or which pollute risk losing their accredited licensee status and revert to more prescriptive licence conditions.

EPA enforcement and technical expertise will now be directed to identifying genuine polluters and supporting cleaner production efforts, especially among smaller businesses.

The community benefits are also tangible. The new system provides better access to information about accredited licensees' operations, forward plans and performance. Opportunities for direct communication with companies will also be provided through forums such as local community liaison committees.

In Victoria, we are confident that this innovative new approach to environmental regulation will be adopted by other States as the best way forward for the 1990s and beyond.

2. Coastal Reform

While the task of implementing the accredited licensee system has involved its share of difficulties, it must be said that the challenge of reforming coastal management in Victoria is truly awesome.

While the broad objectives of both the accredited licensee and coastal management reforms are essentially the same - improving and modernising out-dated regulatory structures - the main difference is the plethora of authorities and laws governing the Victorian coastline.

In October 1992 the new Government inherited 160 separate agencies responsible for coastal management in this State, operating under 29 separate Acts of Parliament!

There has never been a co-ordinated planning strategy for the Victorian coast and, with the demise of the Port Phillip Authority in 1984, there has also been an absence of leadership.

We are therefore approaching the task of coastal management reform by recognising past mistakes and seeking a viable, long-term alternative.

We have commenced a three-stage process to completely overhaul coastal management:

First, we produced a detailed public discussion paper earlier this year which called for community comment on a range of options for legislative and policy change in Victoria's confusing array of agencies, works approval processes and management structures.

Secondly, we established an expert Coastal Reference Group to provide an independent source of advice on the best options for reform, based on the public submissions received in response to the discussion paper.

Thirdly, we have announced our intention to produce a Coastal Management Bill to provide an effective framework for the coast well into the next century.

A component of the legislation will be the establishment of a free-standing Coastal and Bay Management Council to co-ordinate strategic planning for all of the Victorian coast.

The new Coastal Council will end decades of leaderless and reactionary decision making by providing an integrated approach to the development of coastal policy and strategic planning on the coastal zone, including both public and private land.

In particular, the Council will have responsibility for preparing Victoria's first Coastal Strategy, which will serve as a matrix for future coastal decision-making in the State.

This initiative is long overdue but the Government does not labour under the misapprehension that legislation alone can solve the problem of sub-standard coastal management.

Our realistic view is that the formation of the new Coastal Council will mark the end of the failed existing legal structures and usher in a new era of modern coastal management.

Once the legislation is in place it will be the responsibility of the entire community - including government, business and coastal users - to play a role in protecting and enhancing the coast.

And, as an island nation, Australia's coast should be a national priority. To this end, Victoria would welcome a co-ordinated and, where appropriate, uniform response to coastal issues.

If the Victorian experience acts as a catalyst for action throughout Australia then we will all have achieved something of lasting benefit for the Australian coast and future generations of Australians.

3. National environment protection standards

Finally, I would like to turn from the potential for national co-operation to the emerging reality of agreed, national environment protection measures.

Commencing with the 1992 Inter-Governmental Agreement on the Environment, Australia's various governments have been working towards the twin objectives of ensuring:

* that people enjoy the benefit of equivalent protection from air, water and soil pollution and from noise, wherever they live; and

The real challenge posed by the Inter-Governmental Agreement on the Environment is to work together as a team to achieve common environmental objectives.

Victoria is certainly prepared to play its part because we can see benefits in moving towards a common national approach. But, as with any successful relationship, commitment is required from all parties. In the case of the Commonwealth, it will need to demonstrate its own commitment to the national standards which come into force.

Since Federation, the Commonwealth has exempted its agencies and business enterprises from compliance with State environmental laws. This has created unacceptable consequences such as:

• the uncontrolled discharge of ballast to Port Phillip Bay by navy vessels;
• unauthorised environmental practices at Melbourne airports which have

• the proliferation of intrusive telecommunications aerials in parks and

Any move towards national environment protection measures will require the Commonwealth to review its own poor performance and hold itself (and the organisations for which it is responsible) accountable in the same way that all State Governments and private businesses are required to obey the law.

Turning now to the detail of the proposal, it is envisaged that the national measures to be developed may consist of any combination of goals, standards, guidelines and protocols and will be developed by an open public process - guaranteeing the involvement of key stakeholders and interest groups.

The proposed vehicle to deliver national environment protection measures will be the National Environment Protection Council. Once established, the Council is proposed to consist of Ministers representing participating jurisdictions meeting as equals in a truly federal body. Importantly, national environment protection measures will be established by a two thirds majority vote of the Council.

The Commonwealth and all States and Territories, with the sole exception of Western Australia, are intending to pass complementary and uniform legislation to create the NEPC and to give legal effect to the range of measures which are agreed by the new body.

I welcome the fact that the process to develop national measures will include rigorous scientific studies and an analysis of their likely social, economic and differential regional impacts. It is expected that much of the development work will be undertaken by expert staff seconded from the agencies of participating governments, We must harness Australia's existing environmental expertise rather than create a new level of bureaucracy.

Australia has a poor track record of Federal-State co-operation but the National Environment Protection Council has the potential to defy the odds and prove itself as an appropriate model to deliver environmental benefits for all States and Territories and, as a result, for the nation as a whole.

I certainly stand ready to support cross-border agreements on environmental regulation and policy - and see great merit in a reform process that leads to mutually agreed national standards or goals.

The three policy reforms I have outlined today - environmental regulation, coastal management and national environment protection standards - provide ample evidence that the Victorian Government's policies, and our positive role in national environmental developments, have placed the environment at centre stage as far as reform is concerned.

In respect of our accredited licensee and coastal management reforms, we are setting the pace and providing a lead for the rest of the nation. And in the case of national environment protection standards, we are well placed to help secure and then benefit from the new regime.

We are open to suggestions for other changes and will ensure that Victoria remains at the leading edge of environmental policy reform.