The Environmental Protection Authority’s new chairman, Dr Paul Vogel, plans to overhaul the way the agency manages the approvals process to avoid “drowning” in a sea of applications as the wave of resources activity continues to gather momentum.
The Environmental Protection Authority’s new chairman, Dr Paul Vogel, plans to overhaul the way the agency manages the approvals process to avoid “drowning” in a sea of applications as the wave of resources activity continues to gather momentum.
Dr Vogel started work at the government agency last week and his first priority is to change its project-by-project approach by developing regional guidelines similar to the state government’s review of the iron ore industry in the Mid West.
Dr Vogel said highlighting key impact and risk areas across the state would help guide the EPA and streamline the approvals process, because the agency could use regional strategic guidelines as reference points to apply either tough or minimal environmental assessments.
The system would also provide clarity for industry wanting to develop projects in regions throughout WA, he said.
“They would know what the risk areas are, what the high value areas are, and what were no-go areas,” Dr Vogel said.
He said the process would reduce approval times and the EPA would be better able to handle the increased workloads, something that already places enormous strain on its staff.
“I’m used to change and implementing change and ‘business as usual’ is not on; we need a new business model,” Dr Vogel said. “If we go case by case and react, we will drown.
“There are reports of 2,000 people a week coming to the state. This is more than a boom, it’s a step-change. The major resource companies are talking about going from producing 250 million tonnes to 800 million tonnes in five years.
“And it is not just resources; there is the flow on from that – the housing, the roads, the rail and the port. The train is here and it is full and there are 10 bigger ones behind it. We have to get ahead of the game.”
Dr Vogel, who was headhunted by the government from his role as the chair of South Australia’s EPA, said he would employ consultants to help implement new systems and processes at the agency in a bid to get its IT infrastructure, skills and resources up to the task.
Before taking on the EPA chair in South Australia in 2002, Dr Vogel had spent almost a decade in senior environment and strategy roles within WA government departments and agencies.
In his first interview since starting as WA’s EPA chairman, Dr Vogel told WA Business News the state government’s recent Mid West iron ore review would provide the strategic policy for conservation and mining outcomes in the region.
The next priority he said, was for the EPA to get involved with the Federal Government’s Northern Taskforce and its assessment of the Kimberley region.
Dr Vogel said another priority was creating a strategic review for the Peel region.
“This will involve some leadership because industry and government have to work together on this,” he said.
Dr Vogel is a pragmatist and said he did not want to work in a situation where everything across the state was viewed as “critical”.
“You cannot protect everything, everywhere or you get the ‘banana’ syndrome – build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone,” Dr Vogel said.
But at the same time, industry would not get open-slather he said, but rather, the level of risk assessment would be lower.
Developing a new way of operating will require additional skill sets to an agency already suffering brain drain to the private sector.
Dr Vogel is acutely aware of the problem and is already negotiating for additional funding and resources.
He also hopes that, by developing a new business model, his staff will enjoy a better working environment, something he sees as a critical factor in retaining its employees in the wake of private sector poaching.
“We are all suffering from the skills shortage,” Dr Vogel said. “We are losing our best and brightest to the private sector. Part of it is burn-out They can work fewer hours, get paid more and have less stress.”
Yet he is unforgiving of some criticism about staff shortages and lengthy approval times.
“They can’t pinch our best and brightest and then bleat about shortages,” Dr Vogel said.
“We have to work together on this and recognise this is a shared problem. We have to get a lot smarter with how we do this.
“It is about getting the right people in the right jobs supported by policies and systems.”
