Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to join my colleagues in support of the Nature Repair Market Bill 2023, along with the Nature Repair Market (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2023. This is an important piece of environmental legislation. It reaffirms the Albanese Labor government's commitment to hitting pause on nine years of environmental mismanagement, although, frankly, to label the environmental record of those opposite as simply mismanagement is somewhat charitable. It implies ambivalence or apathy, rather than a wanton disregard for protecting Australia's flora and fauna.

Protecting Australia's biodiverse ecosystems, which are as varied as they are precious, should be of great importance to governments of all persuasions. I note that we have not seen a great deal of change in those opposite on the environment from when they were in government—and the same can be said about many other areas of public policy. At least you can't blame them for being on brand and on message.

I look at those amongst the crossbenchers that have made contributions to this debate, particularly those Independents elected to this place, like myself, at the most recent election. Almost by way of their presence in this place, I'd have thought the opposition might get the wake-up call they needed and realise that their old ways have caught up with them. I must say, though, that this bill doesn't concern itself with one seemingly threatened species from becoming extinct—that being the moderate Liberal. This bill does, however, take great strides in providing a means to protect Australia's fauna and their biodiverse habitats. Those opposite may not care about the biodiversity of Australian wildlife, but there might've been a glimmer of hope if it meant protecting the diversity of their party room.

The bill is quite voluminous, with many moving parts. But, on the whole, through this bill, the Albanese Labor government is making it easier for people to invest in activities that help to repair nature, which would make the short title of the bill somewhat self-explanatory in the broader sense. When the Albanese Labor government took office, it inherited a report that had conveniently been held back from the public view, despite being delivered to the Morrison government months prior to the election. It wasn't just the convenient delay of the default market, offered by the member for Hume, nor was it to be the only surprise after the incoming Labor government fully appraised themselves of the true state of the budget that was left to them by the Morrison government. As I alluded to earlier, one of the big shocks to the system was the 2021 State of the environment report.

It would be far easier just to say that those opposite either didn't know what they were doing in government or that they knew exactly what they were doing in government. In either case, it should not have been up to the environment minister under a Labor government to deliver a report that was handed to a Liberal-National government in 2021. Instead, the Minister for the Environment and Water, only six weeks into holding that office, fronted the National Press Club and gave a depressingly honest appraisal of what the state of Australia's environment was. It was one where we lost more mammal species to extinction than any other continent throughout the globe. Threatened communities had gone up by 20 per cent and the Murray-Darling had fallen to its lowest level in 2019. I pause at that last figure and lament greatly. The health of the Murray River is the lifeblood to communities along the South Australia part of the basin. Sadly, under those opposite, their definition of cooperative federalism was to allow the former New South Wales government to do whatever they wanted at the expense of tomorrow.

'Tomorrow' is a very important word when it comes to this, when it comes to why our environment should be protected and safeguarded. We can't take the approach that protecting our environment is no longer our respective problem or that we have no responsibility to maintain it for future generations just because we may not be there to share it with them in hundreds of years time. Even without looking that far into the future, looking to the present, it is horrendous to turn a blind eye to the many communities that are on the spectrum between thriving and surviving due to the dollars that pour through to them through ecotourism. If Australia's pristine wildlife becomes merely a figment of yesteryear, many prospective tourists from abroad and even from across Australia will simply just Google what it used to look like rather than visit a desolate version of what once existed.

This is, in part, why the Albanese Labor government has introduced this legislation before the parliament, as part of its major positive plan, a plan that establishes the Nature Repair Market—a marketplace where businesses, organisations, governments and philanthropic individuals work together to invest in projects that help to rewind the damage done to our natural environment—our many diverse pockets of nature that make Australia beautiful; that make Australia special. A nature positive plan was needed and the Nature Repair Market Bill delivers on this.

This is a bill where all landholders, including our First Nations peoples, conservation groups and agricultural landholders, can participate. They can undertake a number of nature-positive projects either on land or on water—projects such as planting native flora or pest control. They all help to maintain the integrity of the biodiverse environment that occupies their land. As you might imagine, the completion of many projects that have been approved through the framework of this legislation will, in turn, create jobs and additional economic opportunities that are tethered to nature-positive actions and activities. Our First Nations peoples using their connection to the land to design, craft and participate in projects that provide economic dividends to their communities will be just another benefit of the nature repair market.

Australia has committed itself to protecting 30 per cent of our land and seas by 2030, a goal adopted by many nations through the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a noble aim and one that I hope other nations are taking steps to achieve. But what do we do with our own natural environment? That is something that we do have an ability to impact positively.

If maintaining our reputation as good international citizens and keeping many species of flora and fauna that are unique to Australia alive and not solely confined to a textbook are not enough, just look to the billions in financial flows that are waiting to be tapped into by those individuals that invest in restoring our environment and by the communities built around those ecosystems. The demand to do so may be silent on the other side of the chamber, but the Albanese Labor government is listening to the demand and establishing this market to meet that demand. This market will operate alongside the carbon market, as it will have the same regulator for probity and oversight, given the confidence in the current oversight by the Clean Energy Regulator on its current remit. This complementary regulatory oversight will also have additional benefits attached whereby carbon farming projects can also look to deliver positive outcomes for biodiversity.

The emerging markets, especially the nature repair market as it is to emerge upon this bill passing the parliament, are aided by a number of recommendations that were made by Professor Ian Chubb in the Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units. It is important to ensure that there is a level of surety in the integrity of any market, as it better ensures a greater level of investment through these markets. Confidence in a market will ensure participation by a wider range of investors, and it stands to reason that, in doing so, we can achieve better environmental outcomes as a result. The biodiversity certificates that are created as part of the nature repair market provide integrity in them not just as an investment but also as reflecting a genuine net benefit to the environment. People invest for a number of reasons: on behalf of themselves, their companies, their funds or a number of other entities. But, one way or the other, they can have a great degree of surety that this new market has legitimacy and accomplishes positive outcomes that achieve, as the bill would entail, nature repair—a genuine nature repair at that.

This isn't about making people feel good about investing towards green environmental projects; it is about investments that are backed by a regulator with the power to monitor and enforce that projects are conducted in accordance with a strong degree of probity. Restoring accountability and trust is important. This is why a transparent scheme will be in place, with projects and certificates being made available on a public register and with further information being released by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. This is so the parliament and the public at large can retain their confidence in the scheme.

Our environment, our natural heritage, isn't merely a treasure to be admired in an intangible or disconnected way, because many of us have a strong connection to our land. So many rely on us to make the right decisions in this place so they can grow up and start a family in a town their family has lived in for generations. Many rely on us to ensure that they still have an industry in an area that people want to visit because of its uniqueness and its natural beauty—something where viewing it in a photo or in a documentary isn't quite as magnificent as seeing the majesty of it with one's own eyes. Our environment is a natural asset of our nation. Not only must it be maintained for future generations—those of our children, our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren—but we must also recognise that, if we do not take affirmative steps at maintaining and restoring our environment, we should care about maintaining it for our own generation, let alone those in the future.

We have already seen grave impacts of environmental degradation occur in Australia in our own lifetimes. I do not want to have to talk to future generations about how beautiful the Great Barrier Reef was. Accepting this as an inevitability is purely defeatism, and it would be truly alarming to see that coming from our political leaders. We do not inhabit a chamber, nor a building, where the too-hard basket is a credible excuse for inaction on the big challenges that we face. We must do better.

Given the fact that the Great Barrier Reef, a natural wonder of the world, is in the backyard of the Leader of the Opposition, you'd think that he would set aside his template stances when it comes to action on the environment and instead appreciate the need to protect the ecosystems that feed out into the reef and to protect the reef itself. But the grim reality is the chance of that happening is a truly remote one. Maybe his new pair of glasses and the media of him holding puppies were just for show after all. It's the same Leader of the Opposition that we know all too well.

Whilst we can't avoid the realities and the results of reports such as the grim reading of the 2021 State of the environment report, we can couple that with a plan of action to mitigate and repair the damage. In fact, let the State of the environment report be a wake-up call to us all, one that tells many what they already knew quite well. It is something that more need to be aware of in order to ensure that the Australian people know what is at stake, what the cost of inaction is, what we have to lose. We cannot throw our hands up and say that it's too late or things are too far gone.

All members in this place are likely to have a small piece of nature within their electorates that they know of—something worth protecting, something worth doing their bit and fighting for—from the St Kilda mangroves in my backyard, in my electorate of Spence, all the way to some truly breathtaking sites that exist within the electorate borders of a number of other members. Some have larger patches than others, I must admit, but, big or small, these diverse ecosystems are worth protecting, and they're worth coming into this place to support measures that aim to repair and safeguard them.

I commend these bills to the House and I encourage those opposite to join us in passing these bills. I say that particularly to the moderates on the other side of the chamber. If you're afraid of seeming woke in your party rooms by supporting a bill that is supporting our environment, there'll be plenty of teals eyeing you off come time for the next election. I'd encourage you to look at it as being one of those 'from the frying pan into the flames' moments. Then maybe your self-interest and instincts for survival might kick in to save the day. There are a lot of Australian flora and fauna that are hoping that your survival instincts will safeguard their survival moving forward. If that's not enough to convince those opposite, I'd encourage everyone just to close your eyes for a moment and just think of your happy place, a place where you, in nature, like to go to and relax with your family, by yourself, with your partner or with your dog. Imagine, when you open your eyes, that that place is no longer there. That's what this bill is here to safeguard and protect. That is the importance of this bill. That's why it is so important that we get this bill passed through this House, if not for me, for our children, for our grandchildren and for our great-grandchildren. I thank the House.

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