Passing major nature reforms matter of ‘now or never’
Labor is challenging the coalition and the Greens to help deliver long-awaited nature reforms by the end of 2025.
“Reform can and will be done,” Environment Minister Murray Watt will tell the National Press Club on Thursday.
“Now that we have put the hyper-partisan atmosphere of the election campaign behind us, now is the best opportunity to pass a balanced set of legislation that is clearly in the national interest.
“Simply put, it is now or never.”
The bill reorganizing the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Protection Act will be presented to the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Senator Watt will give a speech later and state that the legislation strikes a balance between protecting the environment and accelerating project approvals.
The bill is based on a 2020 review written by Graeme Samuel and circulated when Opposition Leader Sussan Ley was environment minister.
“His review has found that our national environmental law is fundamentally broken, outdated and failing both the environment and business,” Senator Watt will say in his speech.
It will target internal infighting in the coalition and Ms Ley’s call this week to split the bill.
The environment minister will also harshly criticize the Greens for threatening to block reform “instead of making progress”.
Key parts of the bill include establishing an independent Environmental Protection Agency, but the minister will have the final say on development approvals.
The EPA will act independently with new powers, including the ability to issue stop-work orders and inspect approval holders to ensure compliance.
The reforms will also eliminate duplication in approval and evaluation systems by updating bilateral agreements with states and territories.
It will facilitate evaluation timeframes for supporters who provide sufficient advance information on developments.
The government will immediately press for a 25-day parliamentary inquiry into its reforms, which will report back in time for the bill to be approved in the Senate before parliament meets on 27 November.
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