Our environmental laws are failing. At a time of unprecedented pressure on the natural world, the laws we rely on to protect our environment reflect the thinking of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. But if our laws are going to meet new challenges like climate change, they need to be re-imagined.
Environmental Justice Australia is playing a leading role in an important and exciting initiative to build ‘the next generation of environmental laws for Australia’.
Our support for this work is one of the roles we are playing as part of our membership of the Places You Love Alliance, an alliance of more than 40 environmental groups throughout Australia which came together to defend national environmental protection laws, embark on a wide-ranging ‘nature conversation’ in communities throughout Australia, and create a framework and vision for environmental governance to 2025.
Led by Professor Rob Fowler from the University of South Australia, a panel of Australian and international experts in environmental law (‘APEEL’) has been organised and has commenced its work.
The Panel’s brief is to develop recommendations for renewal of the current Australian environmental legal system and a new generation of Federal environmental legislation.
The Panel’s initial work will include developing discussion papers to enable communities and stakeholders to participate in the thinking and creativity of new environmental governance. As this exciting work progresses, we will report on the progress of the Panel and how you can join the conversation on how our laws can truly protect the environment on which we all depend.