Former Greens Leader Bob Brown Condemns Government Environmental Approach as Inadequate
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Former Greens leader Bob Brown has delivered a scathing assessment of the Albanese government’s environmental policies, characterizing proposed reforms as woefully inadequate to address what he described as an accelerating crisis of global environmental destruction.
Brown, speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program Monday, rejected the government’s environmental approval reform package and its approach to native forest logging, arguing current proposals would accelerate rather than prevent ecological collapse. His intervention adds influential voice to growing criticism from environmental advocates as the government seeks to pass landmark legislation this week.
“They’re hopeless if we’re really looking at protecting the environment in this age of environmental destruction,” Brown said of the proposed reforms. “You know, in my lifetime, three quarters of the world’s wildlife has been destroyed and they’re putting their foot on the accelerator.”
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The former senator and longtime environmental activist specifically criticized Environment Minister Murray Watt’s stated unwillingness to exercise federal powers over projects based on climate impact, arguing this represents a fundamental failure to address the primary threat facing ecosystems globally.
“It’s also warm by more than one degree, and we know the biggest threat to the environment is global warming. And yet this minister says, I don’t want to have that power to do anything about it. It’s hopeless,” Brown stated.
Brown’s criticism extends beyond the reform package to encompass what he characterized as contradictory messaging from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has simultaneously pledged to protect the environment while promising to fast-track coal mines, gas fracking projects, and forest logging operations.
“And when you hear the Prime Minister saying, oh, we’re going to protect the environment, and at the same time fast-track coal mines, gas fracking, and even logging of forests, proposals that are destructive,” Brown said. “You know, we’re dealing with people who aren’t really thinking logically or sanely about the enormous burden on them to turn around this age of environmental destruction.”
The government has attempted to secure Greens support for its environmental legislation by offering to apply national standards to native forest logging within three years. However, Brown dismissed this concession as grossly insufficient, comparing it to “changing those deck chairs on the Titanic.”
Brown argued the Albanese government possesses existing federal powers to immediately halt native forest logging operations in Tasmania and New South Wales, which he identified as the primary driver of species extinction across multiple critically endangered animals.
“In Tasmania and New South Wales, the Albanese government could stop that tomorrow. It’s the biggest cause of extinction of everything from koalas to greater gliders to critically endangered swift parrots and Tasmanian devils,” Brown said. “But the industry is being financed and subsidised by Canberra as well as by state governments, and we’re seeing this rapid spiral down.”
The former Greens leader cited New Zealand’s decision to end native forest logging two decades ago under a Labour government as precedent for immediate action, noting that Australian public opinion strongly supports similar measures. He referenced polling showing 80 percent of Labor voters favor ending native forest logging immediately.
“New Zealand stopped it 20 years ago. A Labor government stopped it over there because the people wanted to stop. Here in Australia, 80% of Labor voters want an end to native forest logging,” Brown stated.
He characterized the government’s proposed three-year transition period as allowing continued environmental destruction while simultaneously failing to guarantee meaningful protections would follow, given that final standards have not been determined or published.
“The best this minister can do is say, well, we’ll allow three more years of destruction, and then all we’ll do is bring them up to the standards in this legislation, which you don’t understand, which haven’t been finalised and which are weak anyway,” Brown said.
Brown endorsed Greens environment spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young’s proposal to extend negotiations over the summer parliamentary recess, arguing the rushed timeline prevents adequate public scrutiny of the legislation’s implications.
“Very sensible of Sarah Hansen-Young to be saying, well, let’s wait over summer. You show us the details and you show the public the details and let the public work out whether this is a good deal for the environment,” Brown stated.
He urged the current Greens parliamentary team to reject any deal with the government this week, characterizing the available time as insufficient for properly vetting such consequential environmental legislation.
“Yes, there isn’t time to adequately get it done. And this is a monumental change from the Prime Minister and the Minister for the Environment,” Brown said when asked whether Greens should support passage this week.
Brown suggested the government’s negotiating strategy prioritizes securing Coalition support over meaningful environmental outcomes, noting that consultations have focused on accommodating Opposition demands rather than strengthening environmental protections.
“At the moment, they’re really hoping on the Liberals doing the deal. The Nationals are completely irrelevant to this. But they’re working to keep the Liberals on site,” Brown observed.
The environmental activist argued that Western Australia and Victoria have demonstrated that ending native forest logging is both economically feasible and politically sustainable, with those states having substantially reduced or eliminated such operations in recent years without catastrophic economic consequences.
“Put an end to it, as Western Australia did in the main, there’s exceptions, and Victoria in recent years. And New Zealand put an end to it. It would be cheaper as well, rather than all this money draining into the logging industry when we don’t need it in 2025,” Brown said.
His intervention reflects broader frustration within environmental advocacy communities that the government’s environmental reforms prioritize development facilitation over conservation outcomes. Environmental groups remain deeply divided over whether the legislation represents progress or regression from existing frameworks.
Brown’s critique carries particular weight given his history as founder of the Australian Greens and his prominent role in major environmental campaigns including the successful fight to prevent damming of Tasmania’s Franklin River in the 1980s. His views continue to influence environmental policy debates decades after his departure from parliamentary politics.
The former senator’s characterization of current environmental policymakers as failing to “think logically or sanely” about environmental challenges represents unusually sharp criticism from a figure known for measured public commentary. The language suggests deep concern about the trajectory of environmental policy under the current government.
Brown emphasized that federal subsidies for the native forest logging industry represent poor economic policy in addition to environmental harm, arguing the funds could be better allocated to alternative economic development in affected regions.
“But there you go. We’ve got the Minister for the Environment and Prime Minister talking with the opposition and making concessions to them and hoping that if that fails they’ll get the Greens involved in the rebound,” Brown said, suggesting the government views environmental advocates as negotiating partners of last resort rather than priority stakeholders.
The criticism comes as the government faces mounting pressure to demonstrate environmental credentials while simultaneously pursuing economic development objectives in resources and energy sectors. This tension has created policy contradictions that environmental advocates argue undermine stated conservation commitments.
Watt has defended the reform package as achieving appropriate balance between environmental protection and economic development, arguing the current system fails to deliver either effective conservation or timely project approvals. However, Brown’s intervention suggests major environmental figures view this framing as fundamentally flawed.
The government’s legislative strategy this week will determine whether it can navigate competing demands from Coalition and Greens while securing passage of reforms it has characterized as essential to modernizing Australia’s environmental framework. Brown’s public opposition complicates this challenge by reinforcing doubts about the legislation’s environmental adequacy.
Parliament is expected to conclude its 2025 sitting week by Friday, creating tight timelines for resolving outstanding disagreements and completing legislative procedures. The government has indicated willingness to make further concessions but has not specified how far it will move to secure necessary support.
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