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

I rise to speak on the Nature Positive (Environment Protection Australia) Bill 2024. Stakeholders and community groups have been clear that the Albanese government's new Environment Protection Agency will do nothing to prevent coal and gas expansion. This legislation is a cynical distraction from Labor's reneging on a promised overhaul of Australia's John Howard-era environment laws.

Habitat destruction and climate change are two of the greatest threats to the survival of Australia's wildlife. We are one of the most prolific land-clearing countries in the world, exacerbating the rising impact of climate change. As it stands, our current environment laws are ineffective at addressing these threats. Last year alone we hit a record number of species being added to the national threatened species list—an incredible 144. At the same time, in 2023, global emissions hit record highs. These stats are not independent of one another. Under our current environment laws, more than seven million hectares of threatened species habitat has been destroyed and 740 fossil fuel projects have been approved. This is not environmental protection; it's an environmental sellout to polluters.

Stakeholders such as Lock the Gate have described Australia's environment laws as 'not fit for purpose', and their analysis finds that this new EPA will be powerless to address the massive damage that greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel projects are inflicting on our environment. The Albanese government describes this EPA plan as a 'tough cop on the beat' for the environment when it is more like a new cop administering the same old broken laws that continue to wave through fossil fuel projects in the midst of a climate crisis. Instead of protecting nature, the government has broken its promise to fix our environment laws in this term and has delayed indefinitely critical reform. The government announced its Future Gas Strategy to keep supporting new climate-polluting projects through to 2050 and beyond, and now we've been delivered a budget with absolutely no new funding for nature or wildlife protection. It's becoming more and more obvious that protecting the environment is simply not a priority for this government. The case for full environmental law reform has long been crystal clear and continues to become more urgent every single day. Significant time and resources have been committed by experts and stakeholders over countless years to equip the government with what it needs and yet we've been told to believe that this is the best we've got. It's not even close to coming up to scratch.

Environment Information Australia won't stop extinctions. It will, at best, let us know that they're happening, all while speeding up approvals that destroy more habitat. The Samuel review highlighted that the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act does not support decision-making by First Nations people, whether it be their views, knowledge or aspirations for their own land and sea. As recommended in the review, First Nations people are entitled to expect stronger national protections of their cultural heritage that is consistent with international standards and inclusive of cultural heritage. Given these concerns, it's hard to see what the government has put on the table as any kind of necessary reform. The proposed Environment Protection Australia comes without teeth and without any strong mandate to enforce laws. It is little more than a rebranded government department.

After constant delays and lack of clarity from the government, including an inability to commit to the critical cultural heritage reforms that the Samuel review recommended, this broken promise at the 11th hour is unbelievable. It shows a complete disregard for the urgency of the issue at hand and makes it difficult to believe that this government has any real intention to deal with the now indefinitely delayed reforms. The Greens do not support the indefinite delay of critical environmental and cultural heritage law reforms. The government's diminished environment policy won't save our wildlife, won't stop native forest logging and won't stop the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. It's little more than a cave-in to polluters, and our environment will pay the price. The government should introduce a full package of environment laws to end native forest logging and to ensure that proposed coal and gas projects are properly assessed for their climate impacts so that we can actually stop the expansion of fossil fuels. That's how we stop climate change from getting worse and how we actually protect our environment. The government must also commit to a timeframe for an exposure draft of standalone First Nations cultural heritage legislation and full implementation of chapter 2 of the Samuel review.

This is a broken promise that sells out our environment and the millions of Australians who voted for and want climate action. Labor has caved in once again to the fossil fuel industry, which wants faster and easier approvals for its polluting and damaging new coalmines and gas mines. We're running out of time to save the planet, but this government wants our environment and our wildlife to wait while coal and gas companies get their applications fast-tracked so they can keep making more money and more pollution.

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