Green tape
The new federal government has opened the way for further winding back ‘green tape’, signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Queensland under which the state has power to make approvals under Commonwealth environmental legislation achieving a ‘one-stop shop to reduce red tape and provide certainty to business while maintaining the rigorous federal environmental standards.’ Welcomed by the Minerals Council of Australia as a ‘breakthrough’, the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland sees the move as a ‘retrograde step’.