Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to talk about a very concerning pattern which is emerging around the Albanese government's approach to environmental laws and what it means for our nation's environment and, importantly, also our nation's economy, an economy which we have already heard in the debate on the appropriation bills before the Senate has struggled. It's slowed down. Productivity is down 4.6 per cent. We have heard about the cost-of-living increases. Any handbrake on economic growth, on the capacity for Australian households to make ends meet, pay their bills and save for the future, is a bad thing. This is why I am very concerned about the approach that has been taken by this government when it comes to environmental laws.

We know there is work underway to respond to the Samuel review, which is a review of the nation's environmental approval laws, which are longstanding and do need updating. But the response that this government tables is going to be critically important. Balance is needed here—a balance between environmental protection and economic growth. You can't have all of one or all of the other. We need to live. Our country needs to grow. People need jobs. We need to actually exist in this environment, so balanced management is essential. Mines, forestry, fishing, farming and energy generation are all essential and all have an impact on the environment. But we need to manage it properly.

No-one is arguing about going back to the bad old days. I look at a town on the west coast that I've spoken about today, Queenstown, which is an example of what happens when a government only places emphasis on the economy as opposed to the environment. It will take a millennia for the environment around Queenstown to return to its natural state, without remediation. That's what good laws stop from happening. But we can't go to the other extreme, and it is my concern that that is where we're heading under the Albanese government's response to the Samuel review. It's yet to be seen, but much of the feedback coming out of industry groups is indicating a significant level of concern that it will strangle economic growth in this country.

The minister's approach to decision-making is something I do have concerns about as well. Let's look at two recent decisions. The first one is around the Macquarie Island Marine Park trebling in size, impacting on fisheries businesses in the state of Tasmania, my home state. There was a consultation period set down by law. There were 15,000 submissions received. By law, the Director of National Parks needs to receive those submission, assess them and then provide advice to the minister. Would you believe that four hours prior to the close of submissions the minister announced, by way of Twitter, what her decision was and declared it a 'no-brainer'. So much for consultation with industry and so much for regard to the impact a decision of government will have on the capacity of businesses who, as the minister herself said, have operated sustainably for twenty years or more. It will now be incredibly difficult for the jobs that those businesses create to continue to operate in the way that they have—sustainably—and to provide work for a good many Tasmanians. And, of course, to provide fish to market that are fished sustainably to the world's best standards.

It's the same with the decision to ban gillnets in the Great Barrier Reef—a decision which has been labelled by industry as one that is actually going to be bad for the environment globally. We do things appropriately here in Australia. From fishery scientists to members of the commercial fishing sector, it has been said that this ban announced by the government minister completely blindsided them. We need to work with industry to make sure that these changes, which might be made with the best intentions, are done in a way that does not impinge on our capacity to grow the economy and to create jobs. That most alarming thing about this, as the Queensland Seafood Association's David Bobberman said, is that there was no warning about this decision and a complete lack of government engagement.

I found the previous speech by our colleague Senator Hanson-Young, about what she expects the government to do when it comes to environmental laws, very disturbing. She expects them to go harder, to lock up more and to prevent growth and economic activity from occurring. It's the same green groups who are now saying, bizarrely—I'm not sure if they are aware of what happens in my home state of Tasmania—that farmed fish is the future. Those same groups are the ones who say we should ban fish farms. No economic activity is okay for them. No impact on the environment is okay for them. The people who pay the price are the people who currently can't pay their power bills, particularly in rural and regional communities, where most of our primary and extractive industries are.

I'm concerned about the direction this government is going in, I'm concerned about the approach this minister is taking and I look forward to seeing the laws when they are tabled here. Hopefully they are not what most businesses are telling me they expect: laws that will cause businesses to suffer under this government.