Jennie George (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Heritage) Share this | Hansard source

I must commend the member for Calare for his most comprehensive commentary and analysis of the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2006 that has come to this parliament with such unseemly haste. As a member of parliament, I think it is the first time I am making comments on a bill when I do not even have the option of referring to credible independent advice from the Parliamentary Library—no Bills Digest is available; I am told it may be another 10 days before one comes before us. It is totally preposterous that we are being asked to debate a bill, which contains 409 pages of amendments to this government’s major environmental law, in these circumstances. We were told in the second reading speech by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage that:

The aim is to continue to strengthen environment and heritage protection while streamlining some of the provisions of the EPBC Act and providing greater capacity and flexibility for more strategic approaches to be employed.

I must say that, in looking at the rationale for the introduction of this legislation, I agree with the member for Calare. Most of the comments made in that second reading speech leave me with a very uneasy feeling that this legislation is driven by commercial imperatives rather than the professed commitment to strengthening and enhancing environmental and heritage protection.

There is no doubt in my mind that this legislation is being rushed through both houses of parliament, with the legislation, in the government’s agenda, due to be decided and resolved by the end of November. A serious major piece of environmental law that governs the operations of the nation is being rushed through with unseemly haste. The bill has been referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, which is due to report in mid-November, but we are debating this bill even before we have had the opportunity to look at public submissions and public commentary.

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