Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the interim report of the Environment and Communications References Committee on Australia's faunal extinction crisis, environmental protections for native grasslands and the conduct of ministers, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee. I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

This report is damning of the minister. It shows that this government has absolute disregard for environmental protections and will use the rules to suit themselves. Evidence collected throughout this inquiry indicates that Mr Taylor not only failed to disclose his vested interests but also sought to use his ministerial office and parliamentary connections to obtain special treatment for himself and his family, which is not offered to any other landholder in Australia. After considering this evidence, the committee reached the conclusion that the Hon.—or not so honourable—Angus Taylor MP, a minister from 2016 in the Turnbull-Morrison government, has sought to use his position and connections to interfere in the operation of this case in a way that breaches not only the prime ministerial Statement of Ministerial Standards, but also the expectations that Australians have of how their members of parliament will behave.

Mr Taylor has claimed that he was representing the views of agricultural stakeholders in making representations to the minister and his department. The committee, however, has found very little evidence to support this claim. It seems that Mr Taylor's claims are overstated at best and misleading at worst. This is rank abuse of position and privilege by the minister, and it just shows that this government cannot be trusted to protect the environment and cannot be trusted to keep their own MPs and ministers in line. It seems as though there is one rule for everybody else and a special rule for them. This committee report is damning and—make no mistake—this is just one of the issues that Mr Taylor is now facing scrutiny over. This is a minister who has continued to be found to be misleading the Australian people and the parliament, and to be abusive of his position as a minister. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted.

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

I rise to make a short contribution on the report that was just tabled. This is an incredibly damning report, with three very strong recommendations made as part of an interim report of the Senate inquiry into Australia's faunal extinction crisis. What it finds is that the current ministerial standards are failing to stop conflicts of interest, they're failing to ensure integrity and they're certainly failing to deliver good outcomes for the environment. The chair of that particular inquiry, my colleague Senator Rice, will speak briefly on that particular aspect.

What this interim majority report recommended is that the Prime Minister finally do something to restore public confidence in government integrity, which we know is at all-time lows, by actually enforcing the disclosure obligations about the personal and pecuniary interests of ministers—and not just any ministers but including Minister Taylor, that embattled and frequently mentioned minister. It also recommends that all ministers be reminded that they're not meant to be there to abuse public office for private gain. I'm incredulous that it takes a Senate inquiry report to recommend that ministers be told not to put their own private greed ahead of their jobs to act in the national public interest as ministers of the Crown.

The inquiry also recommends that the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet review the conduct of Minister Taylor and the now Treasurer, Minister Frydenberg. That is a very serious rebuke of both of those senior ministers. I hope that the government takes those recommendations on board, because it should not have to be coping with any more scandals. The public already has enough reason to have absolutely no confidence in this government or, frankly, in this institution of democracy.

The other recommendations go to the need for the Department of the Environment and Energy to be audited, in particular for the extremely long time that the compliance investigation into this matter has taken. It's still on foot. There still have been no consequences for Minister Taylor, and there has been no decent explanation as to why the compliance investigation has taken so very long—longer than any other comparable compliance investigation. The department has also been rebuked for its failure to take appropriate notes in relevant ministerial meetings. One of the final recommendations is that the Public Service Commission undertake a review of note-taking procedures.

What we have seen from this government is ministers putting their private interests ahead of the public interest; abusing public servants; seeking to interfere in compliance matters and in investigations; and apparently issuing instructions that minutes be not taken. It is about time that we saw some integrity restored to this institution. That is why the Greens have moved for a parliamentary code of conduct. It's not enough that the prime ministerial standards exist if they are not enforced and are clearly being flouted on regular occasions. It's exactly why we need a federal anti-corruption body, but it will probably be an awfully long time before we see this government introduce such a body.

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

This is an extraordinary report. It goes to the heart of what is wrong with this coalition government. It is government by the coalition for their mates at the expense of everybody else and the environment. It's worth highlighting some of the extraordinary material in this report.

In November 2016 the Commonwealth received allegations that there had been a potential violation of the EPBC Act on a property recently acquired by Jam Land in New South Wales. We know from ASIC documents that Minister Taylor and three of his brothers have connections to Jam Land, either as directors or indirect owners. What is clear is that Minister Taylor spoke about issues connected to the violation of our environment with Minister Frydenberg, who was then the Minister for the Environment and Energy. Since then, we have seen a special report on how the EPBC Act affects farmers. The investigation into the original violation hasn't been closed, but they've already finalised the review as to how they're going to look after their mates. What this shows is an issue that goes to the heart of the coalition government. It's running the country to look after its mates, not to do what's best for the nation.

The decisions we make in this place matter; we've seen that today with the medevac legislation. This is another example of the coalition protecting its mates at the expense of others and at the expense of the environment. This report on the fate of our precious grasslands shows how significant this is. After 200 years of European settlement, the vast majority of lowland grasslands and grassy woodlands in south-eastern Australia have been lost, either by complete removal or severe modification. There's only a tiny percentage left, and it was this tiny percentage that was poisoned by the owners of Jam Land. Native grasslands provide vital habitat for many threatened and rare species of plants and animals, which is what the Environment and Communications References Committee inquiry is looking at. It is looking at the extinction crisis and the loss of so many of our precious animals in Australia. For example, the ecological grassland community of the Monaro region contains some of the best remaining habitat for four nationally listed animal species—the golden sun moth, the grassland earless dragon, the pink-tailed worm lizard and the striped legless lizard. They are amazing names and they are amazing animals. Protecting these animals is what we should be doing, but, tragically, the coalition don't care about this. They care about looking after their mates at the expense of the environment and the expense of everybody else. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted.

Sam McMahon (NT, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like it noted that the coalition's senators have submitted a descending report. We talk about rank abuse. Well, this is a rank abuse of a Senate committee and the processes of the Senate and the committee structure. The Senate has determined numerous times not to personally investigate Minister Taylor. This report is all about a personal attack on the minister. It has nothing to do with the environment or the terms of reference. We are deplored at this inappropriate misuse of a senate committee. The committee has a valid terms of reference and this has been subverted for partisan political processes. Consequently, we do not support the blatantly partisan recommendations of this interim report.

Debate adjourned.