Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Nature Positive (Environment Protection Australia) Bill 2024. We went to the election promising a strong national, independent environment protection agency which would be a tough cop on the beat. We will do that through the body to be established, Environment Protection Australia. Through this legislation we are delivering on our very clear election promise. After a wasted decade under those opposite, we're getting on with the job of creating laws that will protect the environment. We are delivering on our programs, projects, policies and actions to create a nature-positive Australia.

No government has done more for the environment and for the climate than the Albanese Labor government. I wanted to be part of a government that delivered real action on climate change, and I wanted to push this change on behalf of my community because I know how important this issue is for my community in Chisholm. We have many wonderful local environmental groups who do really important work in advocating and caring for our local nature reserves, and advocating to people like me for the change they'd like to see in our country. I regularly meet with these groups to discuss both local environmental concerns and their broader concerns about climate change. Some of these groups who are making a positive difference for our environment locally include Baby Boomers for Climate Change Action, the Australian Conservation Foundation Chisholm branch, the KooyongKoot Alliance, the Friends of Scotchmans Creek and Valley Reserve, and Friends of Damper Creek Conservation Reserve.

I know my community in Chisholm shares my deep concerns about climate change. I'm really pleased to be a representative in a Labor government that wants to see our precious natural landscapes repaired, instead of continuing to see the decline that we witnessed under those opposite. Of course, it was unfortunately a wasted decade of environmental vandalism under those opposite.

We have a very clear choice now, as a nation. Do we want an independent environment protection agency? Do we want better data to inform environmental decisions? Do we want tougher penalties for those breaking environmental laws? Do we want Australia to be the first jurisdiction in the world to enshrine a definition of 'nature positive' in legislation? I know people in my community really want to see these things delivered.

Our new Environment Protection Australia, along with Environment Information Australia, will ensure compliance with environmental laws. It will improve processes for business. It will integrate environmental data collections. What this will mean is that there will be consistent and reliable information on the state of the environment across the country. This will inform decision-making, and it will track our progress against our goals, such as protecting 30 per cent of our land and oceans by 2030.

I think we can find agreement that the current regulatory system simply does not work. Our legislation will fix our laws, with the result being more certainty and less bureaucracy for business. We will make sure that we improve nature, that we protect our unique native plants and animals, and that we prevent extinctions. That's precisely what constituents in my community expect, and that's what we're going to be delivering under an Albanese Labor government.

Last year, we passed legislation to establish the world's first nature repair market. We also increased the reach of our environmental laws. The Minister for the Environment and Water must assess all unconventional gas projects, including shale gas, which trigger our environmental laws. Here, we are now moving quickly to establish an environment protection agency, and Environment Information Australia. These are crucial elements of our plans to create a nature-positive Australia. We want to get them in place as soon as possible to help enable this important work. We have no time to waste. We will continue to consult on the broader reforms to our environmental laws so we can get them through the parliament.

Environment Protection Australia, our national EPA, is an important part of delivering the government's Nature Positive Plan. Passing this legislation will mean that we can get on with the job of setting up the new EPA before they are asked to administer new environmental laws. It allows for a smoother transition of responsibility from the department to the agency. Through establishing Australia's first national independent environment protection agency, with strong powers and penalties, we will be able to better protect nature. The EPA will administer Australia's national environmental laws to protect nature, to protect our environment and to also make faster and better decisions. It will be charged with delivering accountable, efficient, outcome-focused and transparent environmental regulatory decision-making. Importantly, this will be a truly national environmental regulator that Australians can be proud of. It will be responsible for a wide range of activities under our nation's environmental laws, including in relation to recycling and waste exports, hazardous waste, the wildlife trade, sea dumping, ozone protection, underwater cultural heritage and air quality.

The government's offsets audits found that one in seven projects using environmental offsets under our laws had either clearly or potentially breached their approval conditions. A separate audit found that one in four had potentially failed to secure enough environmental credits to offset the damage they were doing. This is unacceptable.

The EPA will be the tough cop on the beat, enforcing our laws through new monitoring, compliance and enforcement powers. The Samuel review into Australia's environment laws found that the regulator is not fulfilling this necessary function. Professor Samuel also found that serious enforcement actions are rarely used and that penalties need to be more than 'a cost of doing business'. The minister recently released the audit of environmental offsets, and this echoes this shameful tale. It shows us that the current system is not working. Preventing environmental damage and ensuring our laws are upheld is one of the most important things we can do to protect nature. The EPA will deliver proportionate and effective risk based compliance and enforcement actions, using high-quality data and information. It will provide the necessary assurance that environmental outcomes are being met.

Of course, we know that most businesses do the right thing. But, when penalties for breaking the law are too low and the risk of being caught is negligible, some companies and some individuals may regard breaking the law as an acceptable cost of doing business. That's why we're increasing penalties too. For extremely serious breaches of federal environment law, courts will be able to impose penalties of up to $780 million in some circumstances. The EPA will be able to issue environment protection orders, or stop-work orders, to address or prevent imminent significant environmental risks and harm in urgent circumstances. The EPA will also be able to audit businesses and ensure that they are compliant with environmental approval conditions. The minister will retain the power to make decisions where they wish to do so and, in practice, will make decisions based on the advice of the EPA. The EPA will play a vital role in the full delivery of the Nature Positive Plan and beyond. The EPA will also advise the minister and the government of the day on how Australia's environmental laws can be improved.

Significantly, the EPA will not operate in a vacuum but, rather, will work closely with Environment Information Australia, as well as with state and territory governments. This will enable better availability and use of environmental data both in planning and in decision-making.

These bills also set up the head of Environment Information Australia, which is an independent position with a legislative mandate to provide environmental data and information to the EPA, the minister and the public. This is an independent position to transparently report on trends in the environment. This will support actions and decisions to halt and reverse the decline of nature and in turn protect and restore nature.

Environment Information Australia will work in collaboration with Australia's expert scientists and First Nations people to collect information and produce consistent tracking of the state of Australia's environment. We know that a nature-positive Australia is good for the economy, for livelihoods and for our wellbeing. But achieving a nature-positive Australia relies on good quality and useful environmental information. The information here will inform investment, policy and regulatory decisions by government; by the private sector; by community groups, academics and scientists; and by philanthropic groups.

We know that natural environment information and data is currently fragmented, its quality is uncertain and what is available is not always readily accessible and usable. So having a consistent and reliable resource for businesses enables better site choices to avoid removing high-value habitat for our unique plants and animals. When project proponents are more easily able to select sites with minimised impacts on nature, projects can be more easily approved and completed more quickly. Legislating for independent, consistent and authoritative environmental reporting and information will mean that no Australian government can hide the truth about the state of our environment. This sets us apart from previous governments.

These bills provide more transparency in the critical information and data that underpins regulatory decision-making; this was a key recommendation of the Samuel review. This delivers on our promise at the last election to provide consistent and reliable information on the state of the environment across the country. We know the work we're doing to define 'nature positive' is world leading. 'Nature positive' means improving our ecosystems, including the species that rely on and form part of an ecosystem. Creating a nature-positive Australia means that across the country nature is repairing and regenerating rather than continuing to decline. Our environment in Australia is a national asset and a responsibility for governments to protect. These bills make it a requirement for the government to commit publicly to national environment goals.

When we were first elected, Minister Plibersek released the official five-yearly report card on the Australian environment, the State of the environment report. We know the previous government received it but had kept it locked away until after the election, and, unfortunately, we found a catalogue of horrors. So much damage was done over the course of a decade to our environment, and that is a great shame. Our environment was in bad shape, and it was getting worse. It is absolutely critical that we act now to do what we can, responsibly, to protect the environment, so that generations to come are able to enjoy the amazing nature Australia offers.

I'm really proud to represent a government that takes its responsibility to nature, to the environment, seriously. I'm proud to be part of a government that's delivering real action for climate change, and I look forward to keeping on working with groups in my local community and across the country to meet our goals of protecting the environment.

See this speech in context