Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Nature Positive (Environment Protection Australia) Bill 2024, the Nature Positive (Environment Information Australia) Bill 2024 and the Nature Positive (Environment Law Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024. When we on this side of the House commit to something, we commit fully. So, when we came to the last election promising a strong, national, independent environmental protection agency, we intended to deliver that.

Today, we are delivering exactly that—an agency aimed at protecting the environment that we all live in and rely upon, and one that has teeth. We are hard at work creating a nature-positive Australia. We are delivering programs, policies and actions, and it's in everyone's interests to look after the environment. I don't see it as a political issue; I see it as something that we should just do and we should be able to find common ground on, on all sides of politics. We all live in the same environment and we all should be okay with the idea of trying to make sure that we look after it as best as we possibly can, because the better we look after the environment around us, the better we look after ourselves.

But it's easy to think that laws aimed at protecting the environment are political, especially when we have the Leader of the Opposition wanting to tear down these laws. What gets forgotten is that some of these laws were introduced by a member of his own party, former prime minister John Howard. So I do still hold hope that the two sides of this House can come together again and be on the same page when it comes to protecting the environment. Supporting this bill would be a very good start.

When looking at this bill, there are four very clear and straightforward questions to answer: do you want an independent environment protection agency or not? Do you want to make sure that we have the best possible data in front of us so that we can be better informed to make environmental decisions or not? Do you want our environmental laws to actually be effective by having tougher penalties for those breaking these laws or not? Do you want Australia to be a world leader, the first place in the world to put a definition of 'nature positive' in legislation or not?

The new body will be known as Environmental Protection Australia, EPA. EPA will work with Environment Information Australia to make sure that our environmental laws are being complied with, because what's the point of having any law if there's nobody to make sure that it's being followed? What's the point of doing anything to protect our environment if what is being written in legislation isn't being followed through?

We already have an environmental goal of protecting 30 per cent of our land and oceans by 2030. We've had those debates and it's set in legislation which has passed both houses. While we may not have all agreed, the debate is over. It would be a waste of our time and resources to have had these discussions and set these targets but not make sure we have the bodies in place to help us meet them. Everybody agrees that what we have in place now is not good enough. Everybody agrees that the current regulatory system just doesn't work. Without these changes, setting our goals and targets will have been a waste of time—if our regulatory system doesn't work then we won't achieve anything.

We want to fix our laws so they're less bureaucratic and provide more certainty for business. We've already made so much progress in this area, but the next step is the legislation. This stage of our reforms will deliver strong environmental powers, fast environmental approvals, more environment information and greater transparency. These are big steps forward for the environment and also for business. The EPA is a tool that's going to allow us to do this. The EPA is Australia's first national, independent environment protection agency. It will have strong new powers and penalties to better protect nature. The outcome of this is that the EPA will administer Australia's national environmental laws to better protect our environment and make faster, better decisions by being charged with delivering accountable, effective, outcome focused and transparent environmental regulatory decision-making. The EPA will be responsible for a wide range of activities under Australia's environmental laws, including in relation to recycling and waste exports; hazardous waste; wildlife trade; sea-dumping; ozone protection; underwater cultural heritage; and air quality.

These are all areas which I think everyone can agree are worth protecting, regardless of what side of politics they're on. There's nothing political about better looking after our land and our sea. The fact is that we need to do a better job at looking after both. The ineffectiveness of our current regulatory framework was made clear when the government's offset audit found that one in seven projects using environmental offsets under our environmental laws had either clearly or potentially breached their approval conditions. Again, I have to ask: what's the point of setting conditions or going through the approval process if the conditions set can just be ignored without any consequence? This is supported by the Samuel review into Australia's environmental laws, which found that our regulatory framework is not fulfilling its necessary function.

While I'm speaking on this bill, I just want to make sure that one thing is crystal clear: I have no doubt that the true meaning of this bill will be hijacked by someone within or outside this place, and I'm fully aware that when the environment is discussed, my election of the Hunter comes into the discussion because of the fact that our main industry is the coalmining industry. But make no mistake: I always have, and I always will, back the coalmining industry and workers 100 per cent. Regardless of what spin anyone may hear, coal is going nowhere anytime soon. It will be here for decades to come. While people want to buy our coal, we will always supply them with our coal in the export market. Just because we introduce a piece of legislation aimed at protecting the environment and making better decisions, it does not have to impact the mining industry. There will still be coalmining in the Hunter and all around the country. There will still be copper, gold, iron ore and other critical minerals being mined all over Australia as well. Just because there are ways to look after the environment better that doesn't mean that anything has to change when it comes to mining, which, in many ways, our entire economy is heavily dependent on.

Let me be very clear about this: these new laws are about setting obligations for compliance, and I see no reason why any industry or business would be unable to meet the necessary compliance requirements while continuing to operate at their current capacity.

In order to make better and faster decisions about the environment, we need to make sure that we are getting the best information possible. Getting good information about the environment is also vital if we want to keep track of our progress in meeting the goals that we have set. This is where the head of Environment Information Australia will play an important role.

This will be an independent position with a legislative mandate to provide environmental data and information to EPA, the minister and the public. This information will be extremely useful and will help to inform investment, policy and regulatory decisions by government, the private sector, community groups, academics, scientists and other groups who are focused on the environment. Having this position will also mean that there will be nowhere for governments to hide when it comes to how we are progressing with our environmental goals. Independent, consistent and authoritative environmental reporting will mean that no Australian government can hide the truth about the state of our environment. It also means Australians will be kept in the loop by providing more transparency of the critical information and data that underpins the regulatory decision-making.

As Australians, something that we are most proud of is our landscape and our environment, and that is something worth protect. In my electorate, I have the biggest saltwater lake in the Southern Hemisphere, in one part. Beautiful vineyards in the Hunter Valley in the other part, and some of the world's best horse stud. These wonders of nature have been able to coexist within the largest mining area in New South Wales. In the Hunter we are proud to say we are known wines, mines and equines.

This is an ideal outcome and this bill will help to make sure that more ideal outcomes will continue to be delivered. This bill is common sense. It makes sure that the laws we make are being followed and that our goals are being met, and it helps us to have access to the best possible information to make this happen. It's about helping to make the right decisions faster, and it's all for a cause that I don't think anyone can disagree with, making sure we better look after the environment. I commend this legislation to the House.

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