Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) welcomes progress on federal environment law reforms today, saying the amendments now on the table show real potential to lift the strength and credibility of Australia’s national environment laws. Now it’s up to the Albanese Government to apply them in a way that fulfills their commitment to protecting nature.
Environmental Justice Australia Co-CEO Nicola Rivers said:
“The deal announced today includes some genuinely important improvements from the previous Bills: a long-overdue end to the destructive loopholes that have allowed native forest logging to escape national oversight, a recognition that some fossil fuel projects should not be fast-tracked, and some checks on handing approval powers to states and territories.
“We are also encouraged by improved assessment of land clearing, the commitment to ongoing review and scrutiny through five-yearly reviews, and a strengthening of how environmental standards will be applied.
“This package is stronger than it was even a few days ago, thanks to key improvements secured through Greens negotiations. But it’s also true the Albanese Government has missed the chance to create the kind of laws that will actually deal with the climate crisis and give nature the protection it needs in a warming world.
“The real test will be how the government implements these laws and, critically, the strength of the national standards - this will determine whether the laws hold firm for nature or are hollowed out in practice.”
The detail of the new EPBC Bills package, to be passed today, now includes:
Logging loopholes will finally close, with Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) to end in Tasmania, NSW and Queensland in 18 months. Clearing in forests and in Great Barrier Reef catchments will now face real assessment and national standards. The federal government should implement safeguards now to protect old growth native forests from being completely destroyed in the period before RFAs end.
National standards are supposed to be the cornerstone of these reforms, and the bills provide the architecture for these standards to be created. The real test will be how tightly these standards are defined and implemented. With requirements in the new laws being whether the Minister is ‘satisfied’ a standard has been met, the scope for discretionary decision-making remains significant.
A glaring gap for climate damage – Despite new greenhouse gas disclosure requirements, there is still no specific requirement for the environment minister to assess projects for their climate risk to nature.
A definition of what is an unacceptable impact on a matter of national environmental significance is a step forward. However, changes being made in the Senate today at the request of industry could weaken that.
The government’s early bill risked fast-tracking approvals across the board. The Greens have blocked fast tracking for coal and gas projects, which will no longer be able to use fast-tracked or “national interest” approvals to avoid proper scrutiny. However other destructive projects risk being rapidly approved without proper consultation or scrutiny.
A national EPA, giving Australia a much-needed federal watchdog. But it won’t have powers to make approval decisions. Without an independent board and with the risk of politically motivated CEO appointments, its independence is not guaranteed. The Minister will also be able to direct the EPA when it is acting in a delegated role, such as assessing project applications.
A new offsets fund that will let companies pay-to-destroy nature and misses the important safeguard of requiring like-for-like offsets. The Greens deal means harm to some threatened species can no longer be offset, which is an improvement.
Bioregional planning could be a powerful tool if used well: looking at what nature needs, drawing clear limits and creating genuine no-go zones. Or it could be done poorly, a license to make vast ‘development zones’ where the real impacts of individual developments escape assessment. Implementation will make or break these reforms.
A First Nations standard has not yet been released, but this is critically important and needs to be done well, implementing requirements for meaningful consultation with, and consent of, First Nations communities.
Media contact: Jessa Latona, 03 8341 3110 or [email protected]
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