Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Australia's environment laws are broken. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, or EPBC Act, in particular, needs urgent reform. We desperately need a climate trigger and to stop new coal and gas in its tracks. Currently, our environment laws do not require the minister to consider the climate impacts of new projects, resulting in big polluting projects failing to be assessed for the emissions they create. As we know, this year alone, the environment minister has approved five coalmines, including the Isaac River coalmine, the Star coalmine, the Lake Vermont coalmine and the Ensham coalmine. The Ensham coalmine in itself will be responsible for a whopping 106 million tonnes. Then we have the most recent approval, the Gregory coalmine, a mine that the government has approved to operate until 2073 and that will add 31 million tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere. That's equal to six per cent of Australia's annual emissions from one mine.

Every new coal and gas project risks the future. They risk the future of our reef, the future of the Murray and the safety of current and future generations. The approval of these five coalmines will create almost 150 million tonnes of carbon emissions combined. The minister has promised to fix our environment laws this year, and that must include making sure environment laws account for climate change when assessing projects, at the very least.

In 2023, in the midst of a global extinction and climate crisis, there is no excuse for Australia to keep logging our great forests. Just last week, a critically endangered greater glider was found dead as a result of native forest logging. If we are to halt the extinction crisis in Australia, the government must do everything in its power to stop the destruction of our forests. We cannot protect our threatened wildlife while we continue to log their homes. If the Albanese government is serious about fighting the climate crisis and protecting our environment, it must follow the lead of Victoria and other state governments and stop all native forest logging across the country.

There is no doubt that the climate crisis fuels extinction. Australia was the first country to record a mammal extinction as a result of climate change, and we cannot afford any more. Yet, around the country, Australian wildlife like the koala, greater glider and the southern emu wren continue to face extinction. In fact, just last week, on Threatened Species Day, another 48 species were listed as endangered. This is a national shame. If this government is serious about its zero extinction target, they must prioritise laws that stop destruction of threatened species habitat for forestry and coalmines.

Reform of environmental laws was supposed to be a priority for this government, yet meaningful change continues to be delayed. The EPBC, in particular, needs urgent reform. While we wait for these reforms, the government has, as I said, approved five new coalmines; tried to pass its green Wall Street Nature Repair Market Bill ahead of any EPBC changes or any funding to achieve zero extinction; and introduced a sea dumping bill that provides the means for fossil fuel companies to expand their operations at the expense of our climate and oceans. All the while, the EPBC remains neither effective at ensuring environmental protection and biodiversity conservation nor efficient in its regulation of business.

The public wants stronger action in addressing climate change. The Climate of the Nation report released just today shows that close to half of the country does not believe the government is doing enough to address climate change. Two-thirds of people said that the government should plan to phase out coalmines and 53 per cent supported a moratorium on new coalmines. It is abundantly clear that we must prioritise reform in these areas. Australia's environment laws must, at a bare minimum, stop destruction of native forests and assess new projects for their climate impacts. In other words, we urgently need a climate trio.

We've been promised progress on strengthening our environmental laws for well over a year now, and it seems that nothing is on the horizon. Each day we wait is another opportunity for the government to approve more and more fossil fuel projects. Our climate and wildlife cannot afford further delay.

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