Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and associated bills—one of the major reasons I chose, in 2021, to give up a really meaningful job with St Vincent de Paul in South Australia and spend 10 months campaigning unpaid was the appalling record of the previous Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government on climate and the environment. This was a government who, in concert with the then SA Liberal environment minister, David Speirs, sabotaged the Murray-Darling Basin Plan to the detriment of South Australia's water security, our environment, our regional communities and our downstream agriculture. They cut funding to the environment by 40 per cent. They teamed up with the Greens political party to axe climate laws that would have seen Australia reaping the economic and environmental benefits of having cut emissions via an efficient market driven mechanism. The one thing they actually did well for the environment was the 2020 Samuel review, commissioned by the now opposition leader during her tenure as environment minister. Then they promptly ignored it. Professor Samuel says now that he's bitterly disappointed with their current position. Join the queue, Professor Samuel. Disappointing Australia seems to be the forte of the Liberal and National parties—a natural talent, if you will.

What I learned from campaigning in 2021 and 2022 was that I was not alone in Boothby in my sense of frustration about the then coalition government's lack of action and, indeed, actual sabotage of the environment. They had two record-breaking election losses in a row, but those opposite seem still not to be listening to what the Australian public is telling them or what the environment's telling them—or business, developers and investors.

The current environment laws are broken. They don't adequately protect the environment. But they also don't work for business developers or investors. We now have the opportunity to fix our broken environment laws. We have the opportunity to protect our environment, which we depend upon for our Australian way of life. We have the opportunity to make these laws work for business, developers and investors so that they have certainty for investment, so they can get to a fast 'yes' or a fast 'no' without wasting time or money on investments that are never going to come off.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix these laws and protect our environment, and we've waited too long already. The best time to have done this was perhaps a couple of decades ago. The second-best time was half a decade ago, when the Samuel report was delivered to the previous coalition government. The third-best time is now.

Labor is the party of the environment. Labor has delivered every single major environmental reform in Australia's history—Landcare; saving the Franklin; protecting the Daintree and Kakadu; building the largest network of marine parks in the world; and meaningfully addressing the threat of climate change. Since 2022, the Albanese Labor government has passed strong laws to force big polluters to cut emissions, so that Australia gets to net zero carbon pollution by 2050. We have reduced Australia's emissions by 29 per cent below 2005 levels already, and we're on track for 43 per cent by 2030.

We have committed to 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030, and we're well on the way. Already 18 gigawatts of renewable generation capacity has been installed across Australia since we were elected in 2022. We have approved 111 renewable energy projects, producing enough electricity to power more than 13 million homes, and we have approved a further 29 projects.

We've protected an extra 95 million hectares of Australian ocean and land, expanding marine parks around Macquarie, Heard and McDonald islands. We've established Environment Information Australia, to give the public and business easier access to the latest environmental data. We've doubled the funding to better look after national parks, including Kakadu and Uluru. We've doubled the Indigenous Rangers Program. We've invested over $600 million to better protect our threatened plants and animals and to tackle feral animals and weeds. And we've invested $200 million to clean up our rivers.

We've increased recycling capacity by more 1.4 million tonnes a year, diverting recyclables from landfill. We've established the world's first nature repair market, making it easier to invest in nature restoration. And of course let's not forget that our home battery scheme has delivered over 110,000 additional batteries in just over four months.

We've given the safeguard mechanism teeth, requiring net emission reductions from our 215 biggest emitters of five per cent a year—equivalent to taking two-thirds of the cars off the road by 2030. And we've brought in new vehicle emission standards, giving Australians more choice of cheaper-to-run cars.

We've legislated to bring the Climate Change Authority back, to play a meaningful role in advising government. We've put net zero in the objects of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and in the Australian Renewable Energy Agency Act and made it relevant to other key agencies, such as Infrastructure Australia and Export Finance Australia. Now, I know the concept of net zero is triggering for those opposite, but you can't say you understand the science of climate change, the impacts it's already having on our planet and our country, and what it will do in the future, if you then turn around and say, 'We want to slow down any action and turn a target into an "ambition".'

That brings me to this bill. The Environment Protection Reform Bill delivers modern, fit-for-purpose, national environment laws that ensure big gains for both the environment and business. The Albanese Labor government is committed to reforming our national environment laws to deliver stronger environmental protections, reduce duplication and boost accountability and transparency in decision-making.

It has been five long years since Professor Graeme Samuel tabled his report for the former environment minister Sussan Ley, and our laws remain broken. They aren't working for the environment, they aren't working for business or industry and they aren't working for investors.

Our unique natural environment is irreplaceable, and we owe it to our children and our grandchildren to do everything we can to protect it. But the Samuel review told us that the environment is going backwards. These reforms that we're presenting today are based on the recommendations from Professor Samuel in his 2020 report. Professor Samuel himself has publicly backed this bill as meeting all of the recommendations in his report.

These laws are a targeted and balanced package of reforms to the EPBC Act centred on three key pillars. Stronger environmental protection and restoration— (Quorum formed) As I was saying, I know that net zero is very triggering for those opposite, but you can't say that you understand climate science and that you understand and care about the impact that's happening on our planet and our country if you then turn around and say you want to slow down any action and turn a target into an ambition.

These stronger environmental protection and restoration laws won't just deliver better protections for our special places but restore and regenerate them for future generations, which those opposite clearly don't care about. More efficient and robust project assessments and approvals will allow us to better respond to and deliver on national priorities that work for the betterment of our country, like the renewable energy transition, a future made in Australia and the housing that we need, which those opposite don't seem to understand. It will also give business, industry and investors the certainty of a fast yes or a fast no for their proposals, and accountability and transparency in decision-making to give all Australians confidence in these laws.

And, of course, most notably, these laws will establish Australia's first-ever independent environmental protection agency, which will be a strong, independent regulator with a clear focus on ensuring better compliance with and stronger enforcement of Australia's new environmental laws. The reforms will also allow the environment minister to make national environment standards, standards that will set boundaries for decisions to ensure they deliver improved environmental outcomes. The standards will protect the environment, give business clear rules and help decision-makers be fair and consistent.

I know that my electorate of Boothby will be particularly interested in the remake of the environment offset system. Sometimes projects can harm the environment in ways that can't be avoided, and, when this happens, steps must be taken to compensate or make up for that damage—an environmental offset. The offset could take the form of an action, a payment or both. I constantly hear from people very concerned that the current offsets regime is not effective and has enabled polluters to consider paying for cheap and ineffective offsets as a cost of doing business that they're willing to pay. Under the new system, projects will be required in the first instance, by law, to avoid, mitigate or repair damage to protected matters where possible. Any residual significant impacts on nationally protected matters must be fully offset to achieve a net gain for the environment. They must leave the environment better off.

The current legislation requires no net loss, so moving to a net gain for the environment is a massive step forward. A net gain could be achieved either by the proponent delivering directly on an offset—a new and improved offset that is a real offset—or through an upfront financial contribution to a restoration fund. Proposed reforms will introduce new options for offsetting. Projects proponents can deliver an offset themselves or pay for the government to do it via a restoration contribution payment—or a combination of both. The proposed changes will also allow certain biodiversity certificates, issued under the Nature Repair Market, to be used for environmental offsetting, and this helps ensure that there are enough environmental offsets to provide real, lasting environmental benefits.

Part of the clarity the EPBC bill will bring includes a clear understanding of go and no-go zones. The reforms will include a new definition of unacceptable impact specific to each protected matter. This will set clear and upfront criteria for impacts that cannot be approved unless the project meets the national interest test. It will increase transparency, consistency and certainty of decisions. This applies to protected matters under the EPBC Act, including World Heritage areas, threatened species and wetlands of international importance.

Now, we'd like to think that all players in this area would value our environment—that they'd do the right thing; however, we do live in the real world. The Samuel review recognised that, for some bad actors, breaching the law is just the cost of doing business, so the reforms increase the penalties for the most serious and significant breaches of legislation, and they allow courts to respond proportionately to the most egregious breaches.

I'm so pleased that we've introduced this EPBC bill. This is really important legislation. This is legislation that my electorate—and in fact all of Australia—has been waiting for for too long. It responds fully to the recommendations of the Samuel review. It's legislation that the environment needs and that business, industry and developers need; it's legislation that this country needs. I commend the bill to the House.

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