Andrew Wilkie (Denison, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A number of constituents have sought my support for the Australian Panel of Experts on Environmental Law's blueprint for the next generation of Australian environmental law. This calls for new laws to protect our environment and to ensure that businesses and governments are doing the right thing, especially when it comes to keeping the air we breathe free from pollution. In response, I can assure my constituents that I do agree that our current laws aren't providing the right protection that our natural environment really needs. Indeed, it's self-evident that our vanishing wildlife, reefs and forests remain under threat from loggers, big developers and polluters like Adani who are damaging our living world while locking out concerned communities and ignoring international commitments.

I also agree with the importance of establishing a societal goal for Australia that will enhance or replace the current National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development. I urge the government to establish an independent commission to set standards, and to create an independent national environmental protection authority to ensure that not only do governments and businesses do the right thing but also that communities and individuals have the right to raise their voices on environmental issues. It is clear that the environmental situation is unacceptable. What we really need to do is to act now to protect our natural world.