Communities Against the Fast Track are appalled to learn of the $10 million dollar debt forced on the Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Government's determination to rush through a Fast-track process that seemingly only (some) Industry support.

In August 2024 the government forced the agency to slash some 42 jobs (16%) in the interests of 'cost cutting', while forcing them to take this loan.

"This is shocking, and astounding," says Augusta Macassey-Pickard, spokesperson for the group. "We knew that this process was rushed, and flawed, but this is another level of compromised."

The groups in CAFT have all been seriously concerned about the motivation, the process and the statements of the Ministers who have been promoting this legislation since it was first mooted.

"To have the head of the Agency speaking out like this is more than just an alarm bell, it is a truly dire warning," Macassey-Pickard says. "One of our concerns, amongst others, was that those charged with undertaking the huge volume of work required to consider applications of this complexity in a 'one stop shop' situation will not have the capacity to do so adequately."

The groups would like clarification from the government as to what the concerns of the Chair of the EPA mean in real terms - if the Agency cannot service this debt, what are the consequences - and how will it impact fast tracking complex applications.

"We also question the appropriateness of using the EPA to host this process, given its role in protecting our environment and human health when the Fast-track actively seeks to avoid accountability in relation to either. The fact that the Agency has gone public with this really speaks to the flagrant disregard the Ministers have for the expertise they should be relying on for advice and guidance."

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