Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

Labor is committed to fixing our environment laws so that they work better for our environment and better for business. That means our laws need to improve nature, and protect our unique native plants and animals.

And our laws need to be less bureaucratic and provide more certainty for business. That's what the community expects and that's what we're delivering.

We will do this in a common-sense way that supports both national productivity and environmental protection.

Everybody agrees that the current laws don't work.

We said we would improve certainty for business. Certainty that helps drive investment in jobs, communities and nation-building projects.

That is what we are doing.

We said we want a country in which nature is being repaired and is regenerating rather than continuing to decline.

That is what we are doing.

This Bill would address a critical problem in our current laws.

A problem that is playing out right now in a small community in Tasmania, that is supported by a well established industry.

A problem that is putting jobs, investment and individual livelihoods at risk.

This Bill would support the Government's commitment to provide certainty, clarity and fairness for ongoing industries, workers and communities affected by reconsideration of decisions under the EPBC Act.

The Bill would remove the ability of the Minister for the Environment to reconsider a past decision on an action that meets certain criteria.

Reconsideration powers have been available to the Minister since the beginning of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act a quarter of a century ago.

These powers exist to enable the Minister to respond to a limited range of circumstances, based on new and changing environmental information.

This is important.

But, these powers can create considerable uncertainty and affect communities that have come to depend on a lifeline industry.

The economic and social impacts of changing a decision can be severe, putting jobs, community and individual livelihoods at risk.

Industries and communities like Macquarie Harbour. This is a timely example, but it's potentially not an isolated event. This means that swift action is required now, but also to ensure that these circumstances do not occur again.

The Bill recognises that established and lawfully operating projects, where proponents did the right thing and referred their action to the Environment Minister, and which have been investing and operating for 5 or more years on the basis of that decision, should not be put at risk.

The Bill would only capture a small subset of decisions that can be reconsidered called 'not a controlled action- particular manner' (or NCA-PM) decisions. These decisions are made when the Minister decides that an action does not require approval, because the action would be undertaken in the particular manner described.

The Bill would also recognise the important role that states and territories play in managing environmental impacts, through their own plans, policies and laws. The amendment specifies that a project must have a state or territory management arrangement specified in its 'particular manners' to meet the criteria.

The Australian Government is committed to working in partnership with industry, communities and states and territories to protect our environment and support the conservation and recovery of our threatened species.

We have invested more than $500 million in targeted threatened species recovery, including under the Saving Native Species Program, the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Environmental Science Program. This is complemented by other Government investments for Ramsar wetlands, World Heritage properties and protected areas that support biodiversity conservation and the recovery of threatened species.

We have invested $37.5 million in priority conservation actions for the Maugean skate population in Macquarie Harbour. Investments to improve water quality and environmental conditions within Macquarie Harbour and support critical species conservation actions including a successful captive breeding program.

We are also actively working with salmon industry stakeholders on further steps that can be taken to protect the environment and ensure the industry has a sustainable and long term future producing high quality salmon.

This Bill strikes a balance between the important task of protecting our environment, and the need to provide certainty and stability to businesses which have already made substantial investment to get a project up and running, and most importantly protecting jobs.

This is good, sensible and balanced regulation.

The proposed changes would commence the day after Royal Assent and would apply to any reconsideration decision made under section 78 after the amendment commences, regardless of how long ago the original decision was made.

I commend the Bill to the Chamber.