‘Productivity Commission to help WA change with world': Cook
Speaking at a breakfast on day three of the Resources Technology Showcase 2025 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday, the Premier said the commission would give 'agility in a changing world'.
'Like any resources company worth their salt, an effective research and development program is a core part of remaining ahead of the pack,' he said.
'The Productivity Commission will be a version of that for the Government.
'It will be formed by merging the incredible capabilities of Infrastructure WA together with the Economic Regulatory Authority, and it will have a remit to provide advice and recommendations to government on how Western Australia can remain the best economy in the country.
'It will mean greater agility in a changing world. It will support continuous improvement for public sector, for the public and private sectors, and it will give us the innovative clout that we need to fully grasp the opportunities ahead of us.'
Mr Cook said that he expected legislation to be introduced to Parliament in the first half of 2026 to establish the commission's 'objectives, responsibilities and governance'.
The move was welcomed by Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA acting chief executive Aaron Morey.
'We're on the brink of a new era for our economy in WA with huge opportunities to diversify into areas like critical minerals, data centres, defence and advanced manufacturing,' he said.
'We're competing for that investment with the rest of the world. If we want to capture those opportunities, it's crucial that the settings are right to make sure we lure global investment to this State.'
Speaking to the conference, Mr Cook reiterated the importance of infrastructure spend to lower carbon emissions.
'Despite all these advancements in mining, despite having robots and automated gadgets operating in some of the toughest conditions known to humankind, we still don't have the necessary infrastructure required to power our mines on the latest and greatest energy systems,' he said.
'Poles and wires may not sound sexy, especially at a showcase about mining technology, poles and wires are hardly the best innovation, the latest, but the sexiness is in what they will achieve.
'The Pilbara's network of mines largely run on fossil fuels, as a result, the Pilbara contributes around 40 per cent of the state's emissions.
'Eliminating those emissions will not only make the Pilbara the most sustainable mining precinct in the world, it will also take out a huge chunk of state and national emissions.'
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The National Construction Code lays out minimum requirements for buildings on everything from fire exits and accessibility to insulation and capacity for electric vehicle chargers. But while changes to safety standards could continue, attendees discussed possible pauses on "non-essential" rules of the construction code, such as new requirements to lift energy efficiency standards. New South Wales Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said a pause on the code was needed, though the finer details were being worked through. "The pause is something that is where the conversation was concentrated on. In terms of how long it needs to be paused, who would do the review, what's the terms of reference, that work can be pursued," he said, "I think we will have a few more conversations at the roundtable and beyond to sort out those levels of detail." The ABC understands the government hopes to move fast on a pause, and not have discussions drag out for several months. After two successive terms of government failing to find a path through the thicket of reform on Australia's Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, attendees of today's roundtable were cautiously welcoming what appeared to be some progress. The complicated laws govern the environmental approval process for major projects, such as energy and mining projects, as well as housing and other developments where they potentially impact threatened species or significant cultural sites. But a major review of those decades-old laws published in 2020 concluded that they were no longer working for business or the environment — a view that today's roundtable attendees were agreed on. However, attempts under former environment minister Tanya Plibersek to update the laws were abandoned before the federal election — with a key sticking point being a plan to introduce a federal watchdog that could independently monitor EPBC approvals. Mining and other business groups did not support that proposed Environmental Protection Agency. But after extended talks today, they left saying they would be prepared to support an EPA, with a caveat that the final say would rest with the environment minister. There are still devils in the detail, including a desire from environment groups to see the EPA also given final approval powers on projects. But it marks the first significant advancement in EPBC discussions since they stalled last term. Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive, Kelly O'Shanassy, said there was agreement in the room that an EPA was needed but there remained different views on how it should operate. "There is a lot of support for efficient decision making, transparent decision making, accountability — that is not the current process," Ms O'Shanassy said. "You need to have an independent regulator that is held to account for the speed of its decisions and the quality of its decisions." Business Council of Australia chief executive, Bran Black, said a federal EPA should effectively be set-up in the same way as existing state-based authorities. "We take the view that it's really important to have a separation between the entity that is ultimately responsible for compliance and the entity that's ultimately responsible for approvals," Mr Black said. "In an ideal world, we wouldn't need to go down the path of creating multiple bodies at all [but] the government has committed to a new EPA. It's made it very clear, that's a point that it's taken to two elections now." "The question then is: what does this EPA do?" Environment Minister Murray Watt said, however, there was strong support around the table for "stronger" environmental protections and "faster and simpler" project approvals, through a more transparent process for businesses. "These are objectives our government supports, but we will ultimately need support across the parliament for reform. It was therefore very useful for the shadow treasurer, as a roundtable participant, to hear the depth of support for change," Senator Watt said. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the Coalition was willing to work constructively with the government to see reforms to the environment laws passed.
