ABSTRACT
Western Australia covers one-third of the Australian continent, is home to only slightly more than 10 per cent of the national population, and accounts for around 44 per cent of Australia’s exports (DFAT, 2010). Its economic strength derives from the exploitation of the state’s rich mineral resources, which include crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, gold, nickel, copper and other metals (DFAT, 2010). Western Australia also has a long and strong tradition of project-based environmental impact assessment (EIA) to which these major extractive projects are subject. For example, in his comparative review of EIA performance for around a dozen jurisdictions worldwide, Wood (1994, p.333) stated that: ‘Widely perceived as a comprehensive and effective EIA system, Western Australia’s EIA process is of particularly comparative interest’. One strength singled out by Wood (1994)is the independent Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) which administers and reports on EIA to the Minister for Environment.
