Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Nature Repair Bill 2023 and the amendments that have been added by the Senate. I want to reflect that this parliament has a supermajority for action on climate change and the environment across this House and across the Senate. I think that this bill is a reflection of that supermajority. It is a reflection of the government working constructively with the crossbench in this House and in the Senate to deliver something that the Australian people are asking for, which is to make sensible protections for our environment so that we can safeguard those for future generations.

I would like to firstly say thank you to the minister and to my colleagues here and in the other place for the constructive negotiations on this. I'd like to thank the member for Lingiari and also the member for Mackellar for their absolutely wonderful advocacy on this because they have done a brilliant job.

I want to really highlight that this legislation, as other members have noted, will expand the water trigger under the EPBC Act. This is a matter that I and many others on the crossbench have been pushing for. Those amendments are absolutely critical for safeguarding Australia's environment, and they ensure that unconventional gas projects such as those proposed for the Beetaloo basin will be properly assessed for environmental impacts. The lack of a water trigger was a major flaw, and I'm so pleased to see that being rectified. This is what can be achieved when the parliament works constructively together on the issues that matter most to Australians. I thank the House.

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