Letter to Attorney General re Fast track Approvals Amendment Bill

Under the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill the Minister would be able to recommend the making of an Order in Council to amend the description of a listed project in Schedule 2 of the Act. Although the scope of these projects is not allowed to be made ‘substantially different’, there is no mention of the extent of environmental impacts when determining whether that is the case or not.

The clause allows primary legislation to be directly amended by the Crown. This is a blatant use of a Henry VIII clause, which usurps the role of Parliament and bypasses proper democratic scrutiny of statutes in the House. This is constitutionally questionable