Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

This motion is delusional. The court clarified what we Greens have known for decades—that the law is broken. The court found that regional forest agreements do not have to protect critically endangered wildlife. The Greens commend the Bob Brown Foundation and the protesters who are putting their bodies on the line to protect our forests and our wildlife. Rather than crowing about a judgement that showed just how broken our laws are, the government should be implementing Professor Graeme Samuel's recommendation to immediately reform regional forest agreements. Samuel was very clear. His review said:

… environmental considerations under the RFA Act are weaker than those imposed elsewhere … and do not align with the assessment of significant impacts on MNES—

matters of national environmental significance—

required by the EPBC Act.

It also said:

… Commonwealth oversight of environmental protections … is insufficient … The National Environmental Standard … should be immediately applied and RFAs should be subject to robust Commonwealth oversight.

Hear, hear! (Time expired)