Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

Australian Greens amendment (1) on sheet 7908:

(1) Schedule 1, page 4 (after line 6), at the end of the Schedule, add:

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

6 After subsection 49(1A)

  Insert:

  (1B) A provision of a bilateral agreement does not have any effect in relation to an action if:

  (a) the action includes the construction of Northern Australia economic infrastructure; and

  (b) financial assistance is to be granted in relation to the infrastructure under the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016.

7 At the end of section 49

  Add:

(4) In this section:

  Northern Australia economic infrastructure has the same meaning as in the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016.

This is a particularly important amendment because it goes to which government body gives the final approval for projects which have sought public funding under the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Bill. The import of this amendment is such that say a state government is proposing a rail line for Adani's coalmine, for example—would not be out of the question given the Queensland government has indeed deliberated doing just that—in such an instance, where the state government is a proponent for a project and might also be responsible for issuing the final approval for their own project, it would be a complete lack of independence and rigor to not have that additional level of federal approval, which, under our current laws, is required but under the policy of this government would not be required. Were it not for the Senate, they would have taken away though those federal approval powers, delegated them down to those very same state governments, who may well be the proponents for projects seeking funds under this facility.

To cut a long story short, if you want state governments to put their hands out for federal money then you need to make sure that the federal government is actually the one giving the environmental approval or placing conditions upon it or even refusing approval where it offends those environmental laws, and not simply allowing a state government to give itself the tick and then get the federal taxpayer money to do a project that is potentially environmentally damaging.

Minister, I am interested in whether or not you, the department or whichever minister has done the work on the details of this bill? I recognise that you are relatively new to this portfolio. Has this issue been considered by anyone in government? What is the government's plan to safeguard against state governments being in charge of giving themselves approvals in order to then access federal funds to undertake the project?