Australian Government Introduces Environmental Law Overhaul as Coalition, Greens Signal Opposition
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The Australian government introduced sweeping environmental protection legislation to Parliament on Thursday, five years to the day after an independent review declared the current system “fundamentally broken,” but the bill faces immediate opposition from both the Coalition and the Greens, threatening its passage.
Environment and Water Minister Murray Watt, a Labor Senator from Queensland, warned that the reforms represent a “now or never” opportunity to modernize Australia’s environmental laws, which have been criticized for failing to protect biodiversity while also hindering economic development.
“We’ve got one shot at this,” Watt said during a National Press Club address Thursday, according to a transcript of his speech. “We’ve got a once in a generation chance to deliver reforms that see our environment and business gain just like Professor Samuel recommended five years ago today.”
The 700-page Environment Protection Reform Bill was tabled in the House of Representatives exactly five years after Professor Graeme Samuel AC delivered his independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to then-Environment Minister Sussan Ley.
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Watt emphasized the historical significance of the timing in his National Press Club speech. “Five years ago to this very day, on October the 30th, 2020, Esteemed Professor Graham Samuel AC delivered his independent review,” he said, according to the transcript.
The Samuel Review, which was “welcomed across the political aisle” at the time, found that Australia’s national environmental law was “fundamentally broken,” “outdated,” and “failing both the environment and business,” Watt said in his address.
Despite this consensus five years ago, the legislation now faces opposition from both major opposition parties. Ley, now Leader of the Opposition, and her Liberal Party colleagues have raised concerns about specific provisions in the bill, while the Greens have threatened to block the reforms.
Andrew Hastie, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and former Shadow Environment Minister, told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program that the Coalition has serious concerns about the legislation.
“Look, I think it is quite a galling request from this minister to table the laws today,” Hastie said, according to the broadcast transcript. “As I understand it, 700 pages of legislation, 700 pages of explanatory memorandum, and say, pass it now.”
Hastie, the Liberal Member for Canning in Western Australia, emphasized that the Coalition wants to “get the right outcome” rather than rushing the bill through Parliament. “We’re not just going to rush it because they say so. That’s not how democracy works,” he said.
The Coalition has specific concerns about several provisions, including “this new arrangement to disclose emissions through the EPBC Act or its successor,” according to Hastie. “There’s an arrangement there around what net gain in terms of environmental value is. There’s unacceptable risk definitions which are unclear. We don’t know what it means for forestry and native logging in particular.”
When pressed about whether a deal could be reached by year’s end, Hastie responded: “Well, the Senate committee doesn’t report till March.” He added that if Watt were to address all of the Coalition’s concerns, “then I suspect we might be in a better position.”
The Coalition’s environment spokesperson, Angie Bell, a Nationals MP for Moncrieff in Queensland, has been working with Hastie on the party’s response to the legislation.
Watt addressed the political obstacles in his National Press Club speech, criticizing both opposition parties for their stances. “The coalition’s internal splits see them lurch around from claiming victory when they first saw the draft bill last week to saying the exact opposite the next day, only to then call for the bill to be split three days later,” he said, according to the transcript.
He was equally critical of the Greens Party. “Meanwhile, the Greens Party’s absolutism leads them yet again to threaten to block important environmental reform rather than make progress, just like they did last term,” Watt said.
The minister accused the Greens of “using these reforms as a fundraising vehicle to try to win back the seats they lost following that exact obstructionist approach.”
Watt quoted the initial reactions to the Samuel Review from both sides, noting that Ley, then Environment Minister, had said: “It is time to find a way past an adversarial approach and work together to create genuine reform that will protect our environment while keeping our economy strong.”
Similarly, Greens environment spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young had stated at the time that “the Samuel report sounds the alarm that Australia’s environment is under unprecedented stress. Without urgent action, and a full reform package, we risk losing our native wildlife and iconic natural places for good.”
“I agree with both Susan and Sarah on those remarks,” Watt said in his speech. “But now, exactly five years later to the day, and after several attempts, if you believe the news reporting, the Coalition and the Greens are no closer to agreeing to these important reforms.”
The legislation includes a controversial “national interest test” that would give the Environment Minister power to approve projects that might otherwise be blocked under environmental protections. Hastie acknowledged this provision when questioned: “There’s the national interest test, but there’s also this new arrangement to disclose emissions.”
Watt defended the national interest provision during his National Press Club address, explaining that it comes “straight out of Graham Samuel’s report” and would only apply in “rare instances where there is a demonstrable national interest.”
In his address, Watt painted a stark picture of the current situation. “Today, we make a big step towards fixing this,” he said. “Today, the Albanese government introduced into the House of Representatives the Environment Protection Reform Bill. It’s an exciting day and one that has been coming for a very long time.”
The minister used Lamington National Park in Queensland as an example of what’s at stake. The World Heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforest area is home to species “like the scrambling lily, mountain waddle, earthworms that are found nowhere else in the world, and the eastern bristle bird,” according to his speech.
“Every week in this role, I’m reminded that our national environmental laws are failing all of these things. Those species in Lamington National Park, the young people seeking homes and the renewable critical minerals and productivity growth that we need,” Watt said.
He framed the legislation as addressing multiple challenges simultaneously: protecting biodiversity, enabling housing construction, facilitating renewable energy projects, and accessing critical minerals while improving national productivity.
“There is of course an alternative to passing these laws, doing nothing,” Watt told the ABC Afternoon Briefing audience. “And that’s what will happen if the Coalition and the Greens continue their roles as the blockers and spoilers of Australian politics.”
The minister warned that inaction would mean “spinning wheels, allowing those species in Lamington National Park to decline, stopping homes being built, and holding back national productivity.”
When asked about the possibility of passing the bill by year’s end, Hastie left the door open while maintaining the Coalition’s cautious approach. “If Murray wants to come back to the Coalition and say, well, everything you’re asking for, we will do, then I suspect we might be in a better position,” he said.
The legislation includes provisions for regional planning pilots already underway in locations including Southeast Queensland, Victoria, and North Queensland. Watt mentioned during his National Press Club address that “seven or eight pilots of regional planning around the country” have already started.
Business groups have expressed concerns about certain provisions, particularly around “unacceptable impacts,” according to discussion in the broadcast. Hastie cited the example of an Alcoa bauxite project that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Trump agreed to in Washington, claiming “if that was on the table today to be approved under this draft legislation, it would get a no.”
The bill’s fate may ultimately depend on negotiations over the coming months as the Senate committee conducts its review. With the committee not set to report until March, significant time remains for potential amendments and compromises.
Watt’s appearance at the National Press Club was followed by Senate question time, where reporters indicated there might be “more interest in Senate question time than there usually is” due to anticipated confrontations over government transparency issues.
Prime Minister Albanese, who represents the Labor seat of Grayndler in New South Wales, has made environmental law reform a priority for his government while also emphasizing the need to streamline approvals for housing and infrastructure projects.
The 700-page bill with its 700-page explanatory memorandum represents years of consultation and policy development, but its complexity has also drawn criticism from those who say they need more time to properly assess its implications.
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