Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Unlike the previous speaker, I do support the Nature Positive (Environment Protection Australia) Bill 2024, and I do commend it to the House. When the Albanese government came to power, we promised to do this. We promised to deliver a strong national and, importantly, independent national Environment Protection Authority. It will be a tough cop on the beat to ensure that our environmental laws are upheld and adhered to. Today, I'm proud to support this legislation, because we're delivering on that promise. After a decade wasted by those opposite, marked by inaction and environmental decline, this government is continuing to get on with the job to protect our environment. We're implementing programs, projects, policies and actions that will create a nature-positive Australia. This side of the House want to see our precious natural landscapes be repaired, not continue to decline, as we saw under the Liberals and Nationals during their decade of environmental vandalism.

Our government has delivered the most environmental protection and reform of any Australian government before it. Our achievements are ongoing, and our plans clearly demonstrate our dedication to protecting and enhancing our environment. One of our landmark achievements to date is the establishment of the world's first Nature Repair Market. This innovative initiative encourages the restoration and protection of natural ecosystems by creating a marketplace for biodiversity credits. Repair market credits provide financial incentives for landholders to undertake conservation activities and restoration too. By valuing and trading the benefits of ecological restoration, we are creating new opportunities for investment in nature and ensuring our natural landscapes are preserved and enhanced for future generations.

In addition to the nature repair market, we have expanded the reach of our environmental laws to ensure that the minister for the environment must assess all unconventional gas projects, including shale gas, which trigger our environmental laws. This expansion is critical for protecting our water resources, as unconventional gas projects can have significant and lasting impacts on water quality and availability. By requiring rigorous assessments, we are safeguarding our precious water resources and ensuring that any development is conducted responsibly.

Further, we've taken decisive action to improve the management of the Murray-Darling Basin, one of Australia's most vital and stressed water systems. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan, which the previous government didn't do much on, is now back on track under this government. We are committed to ensuring sustainable water management practices that support agricultural productivity and the health of our river systems. We've already taken strong steps, including increasing funding for water recovery projects and ensuring stricter enforcement of water use regulations.

We've also made significant progress in marine conservation. The previous government's decision to cut highly protected areas of marine parks in half was a severe blow to our marine biodiversity. In response, we have reinstated these protections and expanded them further. Our marine parks now cover more extensive areas, providing crucial refuges for marine life and helping to sustain healthy and resilient ocean ecosystems. Further, our focus on recycling and waste management has also seen substantial improvements. We have set ambitious recycling targets, and, unlike the previous government, we have backed these targets with concrete plans and funding to ensure their achievement. Our initiatives include the development of new recycling infrastructure, support for innovative recycling technologies and community education programs to promote recycling practices.

We have taken steps to address the critical issue of invasive species, which pose a significant threat to Australia's unique biodiversity. Our government has implemented comprehensive biosecurity measures to prevent the introduction and spread of these invasive species. We are also funding programs to control and eradicate existing invasive species, thereby protecting our native flora and fauna. In addressing air quality and hazardous waste, we have introduced stricter regulations and monitoring systems. That's all that we've done.

In this bill, Environment Protection Australia will oversee all of these regulations, ensuring that businesses comply with standards designed to protect public health and the environment. By investing in cleaner technologies and enforcing compliance, we are working to reduce pollution and its harmful effects on our communities and natural landscapes. Further, we are taking the vital step of establishing a national independent environment protection agency and creating Environment Information Australia. The EPA is the cornerstone of our environmental strategy, designed to provide robust independent oversight of our environmental laws. We urgently need the establishment of a national EPA due to the significant and persistent environmental challenges that our country is facing.

Our environment is at a tipping point. It's facing unprecedented threats from climate change, habitat destruction and a legacy of inadequate regulatory oversight. The 2021 State of the environment report hidden by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition laid bare the harsh realities of the crisis we face. It painted a grim picture, revealing that our natural landscapes and ecosystems are in severe decline. Under the previous government's watch, we saw a shocking increase in biodiversity loss, with Australia now holding the unenviable record for the highest rate of mammal extinction globally. This is a direct result of unchecked habitat destruction, invasive species and the overarching impacts of climate change.

The need for a robust and independent EPA is further underscored by the systemic failures in our current environmental governance. Numerous audits have shown widespread non-compliance with environmental laws. It's unacceptable that one in seven projects using environmental offsets has breached their approval conditions. One in four has failed to secure enough environmental credits to offset the damage they cause. This points to a regulatory framework that not only is ineffective but also encourages a culture where environmental damage is just seen as another cost of doing business. We know that public trust in environmental decision-making has been eroded after a decade of the Liberal-National government placing their ideology above science, leading to decisions that have helped harm our environment rather than improve it. The establishment of the independent EPA is a crucial step in restoring this trust. It will ensure that environmental laws are enforced transparently without political interference, holding all stakeholders accountable.

The EPA's primary mission will be to administer Australia's national environmental laws with the aim of better protecting our natural environment while ensuring that regulatory processes are streamlined and efficient. The independent agency will serve as a body responsible for enforcing these regulations, making it the cop on the beat that Australia needs to combat environmental violations effectively. One of its functions will be to deliver accountable, efficient and outcome focused decision-making. By doing so, the EPA will ensure that approvals are not only faster but more rigorous and transparent. This approach will provide greater certainty for businesses, reducing unnecessary delays while ensuring that environmental impacts are thoroughly assessed and managed.

Importantly, the EPA will also play a pivotal role in compliance and enforcement. The agency will need to have strong enforcement powers to ensure these laws are upheld. This includes the ability to issue environment protection orders or stop-work orders to address or prevent imminent significant environment risks and harms. Additionally, the EPA will conduct audits of businesses to ensure compliance with environmental approval conditions, using high-quality data and information to guide its actions. And, as an independent body, the EPA will operate free from political interference, ensuring its decisions are solely based on the scientific evidence and the best interests of our fragile environment. This independence is crucial for maintaining public trust and ensuring that environmental laws are enforced without bias or favouritism.

The agency will provide regular reports to the government and the public, offering transparency and accountability in its operations. The EPA will work closely alongside the newly established Environment Information Australia to integrate environmental data collections, ensuring consistent and reliable information on the state of the environment across the country. This collaboration will enhance the quality and accessibility of environmental data, supporting better decision-making and tracking progress against national environmental goals such as ours to protect 30 per cent of our land and oceans by 2030.

As the central hub for environmental information, the EIA will ensure our governance is grounded in transparent and consistent data, which is vital for making informed decisions. The EIA will be an independent entity tasked with collecting, managing and disseminating environmental data. The agency will work closely with Australia's top scientists, experts and First Nations people to gather comprehensive and accurate environmental information. By doing so, the EIA will ensure every decision the government makes regarding our environment is backed by the best available science and data. One of the primary functions of the EIA will be to provide this advice to the minister, to the EPA and to the public. This will support more informed and effective decision-making across all levels of government and industry.

For too long our environmental data has been fragmented and inconsistent, which has led to decisions that do not fully consider the overall environmental impact. The EIA will change this by integrating these data collections and creating a single source of truth for the state of our environment. This will play such an important role in our nation's environmental governance.

As we look forward, it's clear that our work on climate and the environment must be relentless. This is stage 2 of our Nature Positive Plan and a really important one to ensure the environmental laws that exist now and the environmental laws we are to create are adhered to. These challenges we face in the environment are immense and complex. The impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation are all interconnected, creating a web of issues that require comprehensive and sustained efforts. We cannot afford to slow down. This government's work is far from over. Each step we take sets the foundation for a more sustainable and resilient future.

My commitment, and the commitment of this government, to take action on climate change and the environment is not just a political stance; it's a commitment to our future generations and a commitment to the future of this country to leave our environment in a better condition than the one we inherited. We will fight against the Liberals' plans to oppose this and to delay our efforts to decarbonise our economy with renewable energy because there's no other option. The stakes are too high, and the consequences of inaction are too severe.

The Australian people expect and deserve a government that not only speaks about environmental protection but acts decisively to achieve it, based on the science. The path forward is clear. We must continue to implement and expand our reforms, ensuring that our laws and policies are robust, enforceable and effective. This includes the passage of this bill and the establishment of a national environment protection agency and Environment Information Australia, which will provide everything that the public, industry and the government need to comprehensively protect our environment. As long as I have the privilege to serve in this place, I'll work tirelessly to deliver the reforms we need to ensure we have laws that protect our environment for generations to come. I commend this bill to the House.

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