Last year I published a blog The Need for Speed, floating ideas for solving a long-standing problem, the need for quicker environmental approvals. In the lead-up to Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ economic roundtable this week, regulatory ‘streamlining’ is very much back at the top of the public policy, so it’s time for another look. AI is being held up as a panacea for speeding up the process but this overlooks the main issues causing the delay (lack of information and poor coordination between state and federal processes). However, the old EPBC Act has some unused potential that might change the game.
