Public Perception of the EPA No matter how hard this government and the EPA tried to sweep all their dirty deals and dealings under the carpet in regards to the James Price Point (JPP), this decadal lifted a corner of that carpet only to reveal an infestation of corruption and injustice, for all to see. The Brome community still holds this incredible mistrust of the EPA. It is believed that the EPA holds more reverence for their close association the oil and gas players then they have ever shown to the environment, or a healthy society in recent years. Our community and the WA public has seen absolutely no consequences for: the serious betrayal of community trust of public servants, the duplicity of government departments and the imprudent of state ministers who can tick the box but cannot dot their I’s or cross their T’s. We have seen the manipulation of process, the total lack of any consequences for serious conflicts of interest and the million of dollars and hours that were squandered throughout the JPP story by the current EPA Board. The Broome community now holds no trust in the purported impassivity, professionalism or independence of the WA EPA. There is a very strong view that the EPA is not working for the protection of the environment but are the handmaidens of the corporations and their government masters. Protecting the environment is in all reality the last thing on this government’s department’s agenda. There were no penalties for the fraudulent discharge of executive and ministerial duty? No one’s head rolled, no board positions were made vacant, no resignations and no enquiry into the EPA or policy changers have been undertaken. No member of the EPA has showed any moral or ethical fortitude by resigning from his or her position. And the Minister at the time was given a new portfolio. That fact that there were no consequences for this appalling behavior of public deception has not been forgotten and as a consequence there is no confidence and trust held for the EPA in the public’s eyes. The conflicts of interest were no surprise to the Environment Minister. Not only did the courts overturn the JJP EPA’s decision because of the conflicts of interest fiasco it casted serious doubts over a number of other project approvals. The EPA’s decision not to assess the Laurel Formation Tight Gas has only validated these widely held community suspicion and scepticism about the current integrity of the EPA. The EPA has failed to assess a number of gas fracking proposals despite the very high community concerns held, evidence of unacceptable environmental risks and a lack of effective regulations, monitoring and or compliance. To many it seems that instead of protecting the environment, the approach the EPA has been taking, whether strategic or not, simply facilitates destroying and polluting our land, water and wildlife. By providing legitimacy for destructive policies and projects, it may be argued that the EPA’s actions are undermining the democratic process by making it more difficult for community and civil society to hold governments to account for poor environmental decisions. The inevitable consequence is a fundamental breakdown of community confidence in the EPA – an outcome that does not serve government or industry, and certainly does not serve the environment.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 00:10:51 +0000
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