State Development Bill: Power, People and Promise

The hidden price of fast-tracking

When the State Development Bill 2025 landed on the Legislative Council’s desk, I found myself reflecting on my decades as a GP. Diagnosing illness often means looking past surface symptoms to find the root causes. This bill isn’t just another step in streamlining approvals; it risks digging a deep hole in democracy, transparency and environmental stewardship.

The government’s promise to fast-track projects and cut red tape sounds appealing, especially amid frustration at endless bureaucracy. But what are we trading for speed? Executive powers in this bill concentrate like a thundercloud over our Parliament, handing the Premier and a newly minted Coordinator General sweeping abilities to override laws, sidestep proper consultation and stifle accountability. It’s a complex machinery with very few checks.

The bill places enormous discretionary power in the hands of the Premier, who doubles as the Minister for State Development, to declare 'priority projects.' These projects can bypass numerous existing acts, including environmental safeguards and local planning law, with little objective criteria or transparency. In plain terms: a single minister with a powerful executive team can rewrite how laws affect major projects at will. This is not bureaucratic tinkering; it is a profound reallocation of power away from Parliament and the community.

What’s missing beneath the surface?

The bill swears it will consider social and environmental issues, but only "take into account" them, not prioritise or protect them. After years of losing over 70% of WA’s native vegetation and ongoing threats to our unique biodiversity, this is a grave concern. Environmental agencies have been defanged rather than empowered, and we have yet to see effective measures to stop repeated species decline.

World-class transparency? The notices issued under this bill will not be subject to parliamentary disallowance. Decisions could be made behind closed doors, with the public and affected communities left in the dark until it’s too late. Our local councils, especially in regional areas, risk being reduced to mere consultees with little real say over decisions that transform their communities. The reality? Development risks being done to people—not with them.

This is no abstract debate about process. Fast-tracking approvals without strong frameworks risks environmental degradation, poor community outcomes, and rushing projects that will cause long-term harm. From renewable energy wind farms with huge land footprints to mining hubs and major infrastructure corridors, the consequences are felt in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the cultural heritage we must preserve.

As a former environmental physician, I know well that health and environment are intertwined. Shortcuts in assessment and consultation are bills payable years down the track in chronic disease, mental health burdens, and community dislocation. We cannot ignore that cumulative impact.

If you want to follow this debate further and get insights from me, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. I’ll be unpacking what this means for Western Australia’s health and future.

A crossroads: Serve the people or serve industry?

This bill is, at its core, a philosophical choice. Do we govern for the benefit of all Western Australians, including future generations, local communities, and our environment? Or do we continue a model that disproportionately empowers transnational corporations to prioritise profit above all else, leaving ordinary families increasingly vulnerable?

There is no question that WA needs development, infrastructure and jobs—we all want that. But too often, the same patterns of promises and failures play out: strategic industrial areas unserviced and waiting for years; major regional projects that stall or leave communities with broken promises; mounting costs of living and housing crises left unaddressed alongside booming resource extraction.

We face a stark choice: keep handing power to bureaucracies and elites that perpetuate inertia and opacity, or rewrite the approach so that transparency, accountability, and the wellbeing of the people and the environment lead the way.

As doctors, we are sworn to do no harm, to act prudently with informed consent. This bill offers no informed consent to the people it most affects. It strips away meaningful oversight, dilutes environmental protections, and sidesteps genuine community involvement. It’s a recipe for unchecked harm masked as progress.

This is why I cannot support the bill in its current form. I urge us all to demand a pause, thorough scrutiny and a recommitment to governance grounded in truth, justice and service to the people.

If you want to dive into the full details of the debate, it’s worth reading the official Hansard record of the State Development Bill 2025. For those wanting to support a more transparent and people-centred future for WA, consider joining the Legalise Cannabis WA Party at https://www.lcwaparty.org.au/join. Because development is about people, not just projects.