Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Youth) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on the matter of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Board of Management Functions) Bill 2025. The bill adjusts the EPBC Act, specifically in relation to our Commonwealth national parks, including the iconic and deeply loved Kakadu National Park, the alluring Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and the beautiful Booderee National Park. The board management plans for two of these three national parks are due to expire—one later this year, in November, and one early next year, in February—with no new management plans yet approved or implemented prior to the expiries. What that means is that the respective boards will be unable to make any decisions from that period. I'd like to remind the House that these board management plans have, in fact, a 10-year life span. So it does beg the question: why has it taken this government so long?

They've been in office, of course, for three years, as Australians are fully aware, and they have overseen the failure of not one but two new board management plans, so the government knew that this was coming. They had three years notice to deliver these new plans. Again, the question is: what have they been doing? To what extent is this legislation just a bandaid solution? It's a bandaid on the incompetence of the Albanese Labor government, some would say, but I would say that you'd need a very large bandaid—I'd go so far as to say that you'd probably need a bandage—to cover up the gaping wounds of Labor's failure to deliver.

This isn't the first example of the government's failure to deliver when it comes to the environment. We need look no further than the harmful algal bloom in South Australia, which I've been talking about in this place for some months now. These coastal communities have been completely and utterly let down by this government. It failed to act early and it failed to contain the bloom. Now the bloom is double the size of the Australian Capital Territory, and it can be seen on satellite images from space.

Walking on Australian beaches year round is a luxury many of us enjoy; I think 85 per cent of Australians live on the coastline in our great country. But, for South Australians, this luxury has not existed for months and months. The beaches are closed, and warnings are in place to stay clear, with big signs that I've seen for myself on the two visits that I've made to South Australia. The community has been devastated. I met with fishers and members of the community during the two trips. On the first one, I went down to Flinders University and spoke with the scientists there. I also went to the Yorke Peninsula and spoke with the fishers. I also met with heads of industry from Port Lincoln during the first trip, who told me all of their concerns—the fishers who haven't been able to make any income over the period but also the fact that they are devastated. They are devastated for their ecosystems and how long it's going to take them to come back.

On the second trip, the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Grey—for a second time—and Senators Ruston and McLachlan, senators for South Australia, accompanied me to see the bloom again and to engage for a long period of time. We walked on the jetty at Ardrossan; I myself walked the jetty twice with the member for Grey. The Leader of the Opposition walked the jetty at Ardrossan, but what we didn't see was this Labor government turn up and walk the jetty in Ardrossan. Instead, there was a dash down to South Australia to have a press conference to announce a modest amount of funding. Now there are fresh health concerns for asthmatics. There are members of the community walking their dogs on the beach who have to wear a mask and whose eyes are getting puffy because of the algal bloom. When it's windy, the bloom comes off the ocean and affects their health.

My point is that this has become an environmental event that deserves national attention, and it deserves stronger leadership. The Albanese government were very flat footed on this issue. They were late to the party. They were the last to the party. The Prime Minister had a very quick dash down to Kangaroo Island—he didn't tell the press he was going—and announced a very small amount of extra funding, $5 million, to assist. It's not good enough. The scientists that I talked about wrote to the government almost two years ago. What was the government's response to their requests for support to monitor the algal bloom so that they could understand when the bloom was going to pop up, how big it could become and where it would move to and so that they could have and understand baseline data in order to compare it with new data that they could have collected to see what the bloom would do? The government's response to the requests from those scientists almost two years ago was complete and utter rejection. They denied those scientists funding under two ministers—first under Minister Plibersek and now under Minister Watt.

I want to say to Australians that this government speaks big on its environmental credentials and loves to harp on about the science. This time they ignored the science. They were late, because they ignored the science again in March when the dead marine animals were washing up on the beaches. They ignored the scientists again when scientists and businesses asked for assistance. They were denied twice. Only after the repeated calls and the pressure applied by those on this side of the House—I've already listed them. The member for Grey was instrumental in that. The new member for Grey is doing a fantastic job speaking up for his community, who were being ignored by this government in South Australia. He spoke and advocated for his community, and what did he get? He got the shadow minister for the environment there, he got senators involved, and he got a visit from the Leader of the Opposition. Two weeks before—or, let's say, a week before—the Prime Minister arrived in South Australia.

The funding that was outlined was absolutely welcome, but, as the fishers told us during our two roundtables with them, it's too hard to apply for, it's too little, and it's too late. Those scientists and businesses—and the Red Cross, I might add—are still asking for assistance and still asking for funding from this government. If it were happening on the Great Barrier Reef, if it were happening in Bondi, Freo or Geelong, there would be an outcry, an uproar. If there were a bushfire, or if there were a cyclone or a flood, there's no doubt that the government would have been tripping over themselves to get there and to support those communities.

In June, the Marine death toll was at 14,000. It's heartbreaking to now report that that number is at 34,000. It has more than doubled in three months. This number will continue to climb, and there's no end in sight. They now think that the algal bloom may go into spring and then on into summer, which is devastating for the local communities. I'm very concerned about how many more thousands—if not tens of thousands—of animals will die and more marine creatures will wash up dead by Christmas. The impact on our precious Great Southern River ecosystem is indeed devastating. The ongoing pressure on South Australians and their businesses, industry, tourism, beaches, communities, local caravan parks, fish-and-chip shops—you name it. They are all under pressure, and it is heartbreaking.

The Albanese government has let this algal bloom blow out of control. There's no way to sugarcoat that. International scientists have now weighed in, and they declare it's one of the worst algal blooms they've ever seen. So buyer beware, because South Australians were ignored when they were asking this government for help. They were failed by this government.

This Albanese Labor government continues to fail. They promised to reduce your power bills; they failed. They promised to build more homes; they failed. Whilst blaming broken and outdated EPBC laws, they failed to address the last term as the reason why they're behind on their housing targets. They promised you'd only need your Medicare card to see a doctor. Australians know there's a co-payment. They know they will be out of pocket; they need two cards. You're still paying, and you're still waiting. It's no wonder that Labor have had to bring forward the EPBC board management bill, because they are now forecasting their own failure on managing the environment and the management of our Commonwealth reserves.

Labor also has a track record of failure when it comes to environment legislation. It's true. When the coalition was in government, we began the reform of the EPBC Act, under the Leader of the Opposition, who was then the minister. It was the coalition that commissioned the Graeme Samuel review, under the Leader of the Opposition, who was then the environment minister. It was the coalition that introduced legislation to reform the EPBC Act, under the Leader of the Opposition, then the environment minister. There was also legislation commissioned by the Leader of the Opposition that Labor blocked in the Senate.

For the last three years, Labor has failed to deliver any environmental reform. During the last term, then environment minister, the member for Sydney, proved completely unable to deliver Labor's promise to overhaul the EPBC Act. She promised multiple times that this overhaul would be finalised by the end of 2023, but we saw deferral after deferral. Her agenda and her proposals were labelled as friendless. The stakeholders didn't agree. Nobody would agree, to the point where the Prime Minister had to step in and stop all reforms prior to the election for fear of losing out when Western Australians hit the ballot box—because, of course, the election was imminent.

What we are left with is a long approval process full of red and green tape, resulting in Australia becoming a much less attractive nation for investment, and now we are dropping in the ranks for countries to invest in under this government's watch. We are losing out on jobs, industries and economic activity, and former treasury secretary Ken Henry recently said Australia's environment protection laws 'have both failed to stop the degradation of Australia's natural environment and held back economic growth, and they are undermining productivity'.

Businesses putting in applications for environmental approvals under the EPBC Act are happy to do so. They are all very proud and accepting of doing their bit for the environment. They want to contribute, but what they need is certainty. They need to know what the rules are. However, the challenges and roadblocks they face are with the time, the cost and the duplication, along with uncertainty associated with the approvals process. It's important to have an effective process that conserves our environment—which is degrading; we need to conserve our environment—and one that looks after the economy with a sensible balance front of mind.

Under Labor, the average time to have an application processed is—wait for it, drum roll!—more than three years! The North West Shelf final application is still pending. Labor are completely divided on whether they support the jobs and wealth created for our nation by the resources sector. They put off a decision on the North West Shelf until after the election. Now, the new minister has provided a preliminary approval for the project. Whilst we welcome the extension, negotiations on the applications of environmental conditions have taken way too long.

Three years seems to be the common theme, because it also took them three years to approve the 100 wind turbine projects on Robbins Island in Tasmania, placing a whopping 88 environmental conditions on that project, including potentially stopping the wind farm from operating for certain periods of the year. It shouldn't take three years to get a decision. The list of delays and missed opportunities keeps growing under this government. Let's face it; this is the statement. Environmental reform is too important to get wrong for our future generations. Getting it right is critical for the environment, and it's important for businesses and for jobs.

The coalition stands ready to work with Minister Watt and the Albanese government to achieve the sensible reform that Australians want to see and that stakeholders want to see. My door is open, and I welcome the opportunity for engagement on delivering the right reform. I have extended the same offer to the Premier of Western Australia. My door is open to not only parliamentarians on this matter but also stakeholders—the dozens and dozens of stakeholders that I have been engaging with. I've been meeting with them across industry but also across states and territories. They are passionate; they want to be active in this reform agenda. Industry and environmentalists understand the desperate need, the urgent need, for reform that is well overdue, and they understand that we need to strike the right balance for the environment and for business.

There is a clear pathway ahead between the government and the coalition. Stakeholders are united on reform taking place to reduce the timeframes for application outcomes, to reduce costs and to deliver certainty. We need a bipartisan approach to this legislation. Having the major parties of government come to the table on EPBC reform would produce the best outcome for our nation. The overwhelming majority of stakeholders are calling for us to work on this together to ensure that approval powers remain with the federal minister and that duplication with the states or other federal legislation be mitigated or removed altogether.

On the other hand, there are two outcomes on EPBC reform that would be devastating for our nation. The first would be if Labor were to do a deal with the Greens. This would thwart economic activity and have significant consequences for investment in our country. It would cost Australians their jobs and it would reduce productivity. The Western Australian premier knows it, which is why he made a dash to Canberra last week to speak with the minister. The second devastating outcome would be more EPBC paralysis. We need to get approval processes moving more efficiently. We don't want it to continue the way it has been under the Albanese Labor government in the last three years. We need to get productivity moving, and we must attract investment; create jobs; and conserve, preserve and look after our environment for future generations.

I stand ready to work with the Albanese government on EPBC reform; I cannot be clearer. My door is open. It is very important to fix these loopholes in the EPBC board management bill, but it's even more important for the government to do its job and deliver on its environmental responsibilities.

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