Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standing) Bill 2015. I will say from the outset that I oppose the changes the Abbott government is making to this bill. The bill amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, or the EPBC Act, in relation to section 487. Section 487 extends the meaning of a person aggrieved in the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977, or the ADJR Act. The proposed amendments will remove the ability of third parties to take action under the EPBC Act and will allow only those persons who can meet the standing test in the ADJR Act to apply for judicial review.

This amendment will severely restrict the ability to challenge the approval of a mine or a major development with high environmental impacts to individuals who can prove that they will be directly affected. I believe that this is essentially unfair and that these amendments will fundamentally limit a citizen's or an individual's right to access the courts to challenge questionable environmental approvals. Undoubtedly, these amendments are an attack on everyday Australians who are rightly concerned for their environment and their country—a country that is now being run by a group of environmental vandals. These amendments attack the heart of what should be absolutely sacrosanct: the right of someone to appeal to the courts to protect Australia's and our community's pristine and unique environmental assets, of which we have so many in this country.

In my electorate of Richmond, on the New South Wales North Coast, this bill has caused huge concerns since it was first introduced. I have been inundated by locals approaching me about this. Their concerns relate to both local and national environmental matters relating to approvals and the role individuals or groups can play by raising their opposition to these developments. These locals are so worried about and indeed opposed to the Abbott government's actions in relation to this bill. They are worried about protecting our pristine environmental assets around the country and also within our region on the North Coast of New South Wales. Indeed, it is in equal weight that people have raised those concerns. They want to be able to voice their concerns about environmental matters right across the country. They want to have a say in relation to that, and of course they want to have a very big say on protecting our region.

As I have raised many time before in the House, my community is totally opposed to harmful coal seam gas and unconventional gas mining on the North Coast of New South Wales. It is indeed one of the biggest issues that unites many of us on the North Coast. We continue the very strong campaign to ensure that our region is kept gas-field-free. So many people have told me they are concerned that this legislation will just mean that the red carpet will be rolled out to the coal seam gas mining companies and our community's ability to oppose it will be severely limited. We certainly have opposed it as a community and we will continue to do that. Communities are worried that even if a damaging coal seam gas or unconventional gas mine has been approved they will potentially be locked out of challenging it and their voices will not be heard.

For a community that has fought so hard—and we have fought so hard together—to keep the North Coast gas-field-free, this situation is not acceptable. That is why the people in my electorate have made it very clear that they oppose this latest attack on the environment by the Abbott government. Our community continues to stand together, particularly to fight the Nationals' pro-CSG expansion agenda, which we see all the time on the North Coast. We all know what the Nationals think about people who care about the environment or want to stop CSG. The disgraced former state Nationals leader Andrew Stoner once labelled the people of the North Coast `professional bludgers'. That is what he called the people who were camped at Bentley to protest the potential of CSG mining there. It was probably one of the most insulting and undignified comments we have heard from the Nationals, and from the Nationals leader. Many people still recall that statement and are very angry about it.

And of course in the past few weeks we have seen CSG company Metgasco announce its plans to use the courts to attempt to force a very unwelcome return to the Northern Rivers. This has all come about because of the complete incompetence of the New South Wales Liberal-Nationals government to resolve this situation and also the continued pro-CSG agenda of the North Coast Nationals. Just recently in the New South Wales upper house the National and Liberals voted against a bill that would have banned coal seam gas mining in the Northern Rivers. By voting that way they indeed showed their true colours. Metgasco's plans are not welcome, and if they come back to Bentley our community will rightly protest—again—against it, in our thousands. As for the Nationals, they have shown themselves yet again to be shallow and weak. That is what the North Coast Nationals are: shallow and weak—all of them. They made so many false promises on the eve of the state election, and now they have all gone into hiding whilst we have this fiasco with Metgasco threatening to return.

Our community will continue to fight the return of Metgasco. We will continue to fight the Liberal-Nationals government as it continues to roll out its pro-CSG-expansion agenda throughout the North Coast. As I said, it is the Nationals that we hold to account for this and the Nationals that we hold responsible. They have had a very strong pro-CSG-mining agenda for a very long period of time. Their absolute incompetence in terms of Metgasco and its licences unfolds before us constantly. But, as a community, we will continue to fight Metgasco's or any other gas company's plans and will continue to fight the North Coast Nationals as well. We have shown, as a community, that when we stand united against any moves that might impact our pristine environment we do so in our thousands, and we do that proudly to protect the North Coast of New South Wales. We have many wonderful community groups and individuals who will continue to do that, and that is why they are so aghast at plans by this government that will take away their rights to potentially take action against any companies in relation to the New South Wales North Coast. Also, there are concerns right across the nation about protecting the environment and the wonderful environmental assets we have right across the country. So, my community stands united—

See this speech in context