Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I hear a member of the government cheering loudly, and the government has just belled the cat and shown that what this is about is giving to the states the power to make decisions about major areas of national significance—things of which most Australians would presume that, if there is a federal law, would get federal protection. Most Australians would presume that, when it comes to dealing with threatened species, the federal government, under the federal legislation, will look after them. But what we know is that this government cannot act quickly enough to hand that power over to the states. That would have seen the Franklin dammed. It would have meant no powers to stop oil drilling on the Great Barrier Reef. It speaks volumes among the first environmental legislation that this government wants to get through by the end of the year is that which will weaken environmental protection in this country.

The Greens have been consistent. Even when the previous government went a bit wobbly on this and said, 'Maybe it would be a good idea to hand off some of these powers to the states,' we stood up to protect the environment. I hope that, when there is a division on this amendment, there will be a change of heart from the Labor Party, because it is absolutely vital that this parliament offer the strongest possible protection for areas of national environmental significance. So, for those reasons, and for the reasons that I mentioned during my speech on the second reading, I urge this House to approve amendment (2).

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