Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In my previous contribution to the debate on the Nature Positive (Environment Protection Australia) Bill 2024 in the House, I was going through the introduction of both the EPA, which is going to deliver on the promise of establishing an Environment Protection Agency—we made that commitment at the last election—and the Environment Information Australia, the EIA, as well as the commitments we have made to address some of the unintended outcomes or unforeseen issues related to the transition to the EPA that are also part of the reforms and the changes in the bill.

The EPA is a body that will have significant power to enforce federal environmental law. These powers include the ability to issue environmental protection orders—these are stop work orders to anyone breaking the law; auditing of businesses to ensure they are compliant with environmental conditions of granted approvals; providing better guidance on and education to businesses to make rules clearer and easier to follow; increasing compliance; and empowering courts to impose fines of up to $780 million or prison sentences of up to seven years for extremely serious breaches of federal environmental law. This brings penalties into line with punishments for serious financial offences such as insider trading and market manipulation.

The recent audit of environmental offsets undertaken between June 2023 and March 2024 found that one in seven EPBC Act approvals were non-compliant with approval conditions, highlighting the need for both greater education and tougher penalties. The EIA will increase transparency in decision-making, including through creating a public website that will provide government and the public with authoritative and high-quality environmental information and data. Unlike the past where we saw a complete vacuum when it came to environmental data—it just wasn't put out there—this is going to make sure that the public see the exact statistics, the analysis and the scientific data that they can actually assess. The EIA will also develop an online database that will give businesses better access to this data and help make federal approvals quicker and easier as they go through the process.

There will also be public reporting on the government's progress towards established environmental goals, such as protecting 30 per cent of Australia's land and seas by 2030. That's accountability. The EIA will also be required by law to publish a State of the environment report every two years instead of the previous five-year interval. This will prevent future governments from hiding the truth about the Australian environment which, frankly, the previous government did.

The Nature Positive Plan is a crucial part of our environmental legislative agenda. It's world-leading action on environmental protection that recognises the incredible biodiversity and natural wonders that Australia is home to and blessed with. While the coalition bury their heads in the sand with empty, decades-away promises of nuclear energy, we remain focused on a clean, renewable future backed by scientists, businesses and experts. In only two years we've seen record investment in renewables, with 40 per cent of our main national grid now powered by renewables. That's a real achievement for just over two years in government. That was confirmed by the AEMO just the other day.

This sits side-by-side with investment in coastal reef restoration, threatened species protection, transforming our recycling system, the new national water agreement and the delivery of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, among many other actions. It's not grandstanding, it's not getting up with a megaphone and carrying on and doing slogans; it's putting your head down and doing the hard work necessary to protect the environment. That's what this government has been doing.

There's a lot of noise out there. There's a lot of politicisation and weaponisation of these issues. It's all about the politics, whether it's the coalition with their fantasy of nuclear energy and nuclear power plants or whether it's the Greens minor party who are shouting slogans and spreading misinformation. This government is actually doing the work. It's doing the work that a government is supposed to do. It's passing laws and getting things done. We've heard all about quiet diplomacy. I'd say there's some quiet work on environmental law that's going on here that actually has a material, substantive, real effect on protecting the environment. That's what we're about. That's what this government been delivering and the Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek has been delivering again and again over the last two years.

We've got a proven track record. This government has a proven track record of ensuring that this precious environment that we have, that we all share, remains pristine and intact for future generations, for our kids and our grandkids. That's a fundamentally important obligation and responsibility of this place and of the government of Australia. We are blessed in this continent with such an amazing environment, and the laws that we are debating today and the laws that have been put in place are about protecting that for our kids and our grandchildren.

The establishment of the EPA and the EIA increase and will increase knowledge and education, and it will also make sure that those tasked with protecting the environment are doing so with the backing of strong penalties for those who fail in their duty and fail to do what is right. As I said, these bills support stage 1 of the Nature Positive Plan, which has given us such great steps forward in protecting local environments. I mention the Moonee Ponds Creek in my electorate and the regeneration of native flora and fauna for the enjoyment and benefit of the community and the protection of that environment. That Nature Positive Plan and the bill that we're debating today which will support and strengthen it and the whole environmental legal framework will give confidence to business and to the public that real actions on environmental protection are taking place, are being done, and they are being done with an appropriate oversight as well.

As Australians, we are all proud of and cherish our natural environment. We know that the Biodiversity Council has found that 81 per cent of Australians support measures to protect Australian wildlife of cultural significance, and 71 per cent believe that governments have a duty of care to protect future generations from environmental harm. A duty of care for the protection of our pristine environment for future generations is one of our responsibilities in this place, one that has been materialising through this bill, through stage 1 of the Nature Positive Plan. That's our duty of care, and we take it seriously. We do the hard work of putting these bills to this place and passing these laws as a government and not playing politics with these issues, because they're too important for future generations. They're important for us today. We all take seriously this duty to protect the environment from harm, to protect the pristine environment that we all share. So I'm proud to be a part of the Albanese Labor government that is actually delivering this protection to the environment for this generation and for future generations.

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