Lithium Valley Main Report 2018
To assist companies wanting to relocate or open operations or an office in WA as part of Lithium Valley, it is recommended to produce a database of all local companies already participating in Lithium Valley and associated synergies, across the necessary disciplines required (business case development, approvals submissions) and to make this database publicly available, such as on the main government department websites. 3.3.2. State and Federal Bilateral Approval Process Establish Federal and State bilateral agreements on the Kwinana, Geraldton and Kemerton sites for the New Energy industries especially Strategic Environmental Assessment. A common theme from interviews with industry was that companies arriving in WA the first time are unprepared for differences in local regulations, environmental protection approaches, heritages reviews and the approvals process. Often companies from over east or overseas are engaged and valuable time is lost through this misunderstanding. Creation of a local partnership database and capabilities register would save companies time and money in getting the right advice from local companies that understand the local environment but in reality there is a need for a streamlined approvals process. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is the legal process that can enable this in WA. The environmental approvals process covers all areas of potential impact and an SEA is something that is done over a wider area covering a series of potential projects rather than just one project at a time which is not efficient and is highly costly. It is therefore recommended that bilateral approvals between State and Federal Governments be implemented through an SEA for these strategic Lithium Valley projects. It is important to do more Strategic Environmental Strategies as has been happening on the Perth and Peel ‘Green Growth Plan’ and a number of others across Australia. These approval processes once completed enable much quicker planning approvals for industries that can show they comply. Unnecessarily doubling up of approvals processes, especially environmental and planning approvals, at both State and Federal levels has now been demonstrated to have been replaced by these strategic integrated processes. They should be immediately done on the SIP and NIE approvals processes. As part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment process it is recommended that the State Government completes a checklist or map of all approvals for all industrial parks so that a ‘plug and play’ environment exists. This good management practice will speed up companies locating to all industrial parks but in particular the ones associated with Lithium Valley. During the interviews, several companies expressed understandable surprise that government approvals processes relating to industrial parks hadn’t been completed. The impact has been unnecessary delays, costs, loss of revenues and to the State and Federal Governments, a loss of taxes. 3.3.3. Parliamentary Inquiry into Lithium Valley A Parliamentary Inquiry to provide a whole of government and community response to Lithium Valley All government agencies and the broader community need to be brought along with this concept of Lithium Valley. There are various ways to do that but one that enables both mechanisms is a Parliamentary Inquiry. The Parliamentary Inquiry into Lithium Valley should examine all aspects of the development of the Lithium Valley concept as well as how the local energy system can adapt into being a model for electricity and transport using the New Energy metals for the transition in electricity generation, transmission and retail as well as the integration of electric vehicles. The transition that all global economies are entering can be reviewed to see how WA is managing to compete if not lead. This would then enable the Lithium Valley concept to become
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