Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I think this matter was also dealt with in part yesterday. Minister Garrett’s statutory decision-making responsibility for the Traveston Crossing Dam proposal will not commence until the Queensland government submits the Coordinator-General’s final assessment report. A decision on the proposal will then be made, but only after thorough consideration of all relevant information, including all relevant scientific information, in strict accordance with the requirements of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

It is inappropriate to seek to have the environment minister express views on the potential environmental impact of a project prior to a final decision being made or to ask the minister to comment before the final assessment report has been submitted. In asking the minister to effectively comment on the potential environmental impacts of the proposal at this time, the motion is calling on the minister to breach due process and compromise the integrity and legal validity of any decision he may ultimately make. As the minister’s track record in relation to this and other proposals demonstrates, he is committed to ensuring he carries out his statutory responsibilities in a rigorous, comprehensive, transparent and legally robust manner. The same approach will be applied to any decision he may ultimately make in relation to the Traveston dam proposal.

I understand the opposition is supporting the Greens’ motion, and on that basis we know the numbers will lie on the positive side of that motion. Therefore we will not be calling a division; we will just indicate our opposition to the motion.