Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I am extremely disappointed, Minister. We do not have the regulations in front of us. We are told that five years hence we will get the review that I am moving for. I do accept that that will be after four years, because of the way that this is going to be implemented, but you are asking the parliament to vote on regulations it has not seen. Given the failure of the government to agree to tightening up the legislation, I go back to what I said at the beginning: the Greens have been strong advocates of banning the import of illegally logged timber products. This is a critical issue and it goes to trying to maintain biodiversity around the world, trying to maintain natural forests around the world and trying to maintain sustainability. Yet we are seeing legislation which will be umbrella legislation, if you like, and it runs every risk of being nothing more than greenwashing.

When push comes to shove, it is very hard to see, with the vague way that this legislation has been put before us and without the benefit of the regulations, that we will ever see a successful prosecution. This is especially so since you have now denied the right of the community to have standing in the courts and for NGOs and timber industry competitors to be able to initiate action for civil breaches of the act. With the level of corruption that goes with the illegal logging of timber, particularly in our region but in Africa as well, and with the species around our region, it is very hard to see that this is actually going to slow down the import of illegally logged timber. However, it is a step in the right direction. It is a start, but I am disappointed that it is going to be another five years before we have a chance to really review the effectiveness of the legislation.

Question negatived.