Ms Martina Hennessy:

I thank the Senator for her questions. I might address some of the questions she asked around the State approach. As I said in my opening statement, the intention is that the work that we are doing on the offshore renewable energy development plan, OREDP, will inform how best we move forward with the State-led approach. We want to move from the current project or developer led approach to the State actually identifying the best areas for offshore energy in consultation and using an evidence-based approach and data from many other sectors, including data on the environmental sensitivities. National parks and wildlife and MPAs are all important, but they are not the only aspects that are being looked at. It is much broader than that. Once we complete that national assessment, the OREDP, the intention is that we then identify the best areas to move into the DMAPs that our colleague in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage referenced. Just to be clear, there are environmental assessments to be carried out at every level of the process. At a plan level, we are carrying out a strategic environmental assessment, an appropriate assessment. When we get down through the DMAP, similar exercises will be carried out. Further down, at a project level, there will be environmental impact assessments and so on. It is very much a holistic approach that we are taking. The framework and the legislation which the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has established is very much providing the overarching framework within which we are working. Moving to that State-led approach will offer a lot of advantages for the State, but also for other maritime users. It will enable the protection of biodiversity and also de-risk the process for developers. It really is the optimal route, long term. However, there is work to be done to get there. We are working through that transition at the moment.