Opposition Vows to Overhaul Workplace Laws, Slash Mining Approval Times

CANBERRA, Australia—Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has vowed to overhaul Australia’s industrial relations system and slash project approval times as part of a broad economic reform agenda aimed at fostering growth in the mining and manufacturing sectors. “I want to turbocharge our mining sector so that we can steer through the current economic headwinds and ride a new wave of prosperity. I want to build on our strengths in major commodities like iron ore, coal, gas, gold, and copper,” Dutton told the Minerals Week conference in Canberra on Sept. 11. He outlined a plan to halve project approval time frames, and streamline the process for states and territories to approve projects that meet Commonwealth standards....