Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and the proposed reforms. These reforms will ensure the future and prosperity of our beautiful country and environment. Of course, while speaking on these beautiful lands, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples and indeed all First Nations people. For tens of thousands of years, they have cared for and acted as stewards of the lands, air, waterways and oceans of this country. It is within this tradition of stewardship, protection and care that I speak on these bills.

Australia is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, from mountain ranges in the east to breathtaking beaches in the west. It is home to a rich biodiversity unlike anywhere else on the planet. Even in my own electorate of Cooper, despite being better known for some of Australia's best lattes and coolest streets, we are home to an abundance of beautiful lands, including waterways like the Merri Creek, the Darebin Creek and Edgars Creek. They are benefiting right now from federal government investments to rewild and protect them and also from the ancient knowledge of Indigenous rangers, including groups that do cultural burns on the waterways, exposing ancient Indigenous grasses and plants that haven't been seen for decades and possibly centuries.

In addition to our wonderful First Nations groups who have protected these beautiful lands and waterways, it's been the environment and climate movement and thousands of activists young and old who've played such a big role in championing and protecting our natural environment. In Cooper we have many groups focusing on protecting the environment: Friends of Edwardes Lake, headed up by the indomitable Kate Jost; Darebin Climate Action Now, a tireless group of climate and environment campaigners; friends of all of the creeks I mentioned above, who tirelessly plant trees, remove rubbish and volunteer every weekend; amazing individual warriors like Cath Rouse, who showed me Toolangi Forest for the first time, and the amazing Carolyn Lunt, who helps locals convert their gardens to native Indigenous wonderlands; and, of course, our local Labor members who make up LEAN, the Labor Environment Action Network.

I love working with these groups. It's truly one of the highlights of my role as a local representative. Indeed, it's one of the hallmarks of Labor governments to work constructively with the environment movement to bring about real, lasting change for the environment. Whether it be working with protesters in Tasmania to save the Franklin, championing First Nation groups to protect the Daintree and Kakadu or collaborating with unions on green bans, Labor has delivered real change for the environment.

But the reality is that all this is under threat because Australia's national environmental laws are no longer fit for purpose. The EPBC Act is 26 years old now. In 2020 Graeme Samuel tabled his report for the then environment minister—now the Leader of the Opposition—the member for Farrer. The report showed that environmental laws in this country were broken and in desperate need of reform. The laws do not work for the environment, they do not work for industries and they do not work for the Australian people.

This report was delivered with clear directions on next steps, and it sat there for years. Is it any wonder our environment fared so badly under the Liberals and Nationals when, in the last decade, they repeatedly axed climate laws; failed to fix Australia's broken environment laws despite having a widely supported blueprint to do so; sabotaged the Murray-Darling Basin Plan; promised $40 million of Indigenous water plans but never delivered a drop; set recycling targets with no plan to deliver them—the list goes on.

Today we are trying to correct the record after inaction and neglect. After turning their back on the environment while in power—and now actively working against progress—the Nationals and the Liberals are standing in the way of creating a sustainable country. Every day we delay, every day we let them drag their feet, the more it costs us. It costs our country, our beautiful landscapes, the chance for a protected natural environment that will be here long after us.

It's why it's an honour to speak on these bills, and I extend my congratulations to the environment minister as well as the former environment minister, the member for Sydney, for all their work. Moreover, I extend my congratulations to everyone in the community who has worked constructively with the government on developing this legislation. In particular, I note, again, the work of the Labor Environment Action Network. They have been champions of these reforms for years.

These bills deliver modern, fit-for-purpose national environmental laws. These laws are a targeted package of reforms to the EPBC Act centred on three key pillars: stronger environmental protection and restoration; more efficient and robust project approvals; and greater accountability and transparency in decision-making. These are stronger environmental protection and restoration laws that won't just deliver better protections for our species and our special places but restore and regenerate them for future generations. There will be more efficient and robust project assessments and approvals that will allow us to better respond and deliver on national priorities like the renewable energy transition, a future made in Australia and the housing that we so desperately need, and greater accountability and transparency in decision-making to give all Australians confidence in these laws. All in all, the government has been guided by Graeme Samuel's seminal report. It's our priority to deliver the Samuel report recommendations as a critical first step.

History shows us that progress comes in steps. The steps proposed in these new laws are huge. There's always more to do, but those who wait for the final step before we even start often end up taking no steps at all. We have seen this before. I still wonder, to this day, how far down the track we'd be if we had introduced a CPRS over a decade ago. We need to start protecting nature now. These bills will do just that.

What are some of the key components of these bills? Under the proposed reforms we will establish Australia's first ever independent National Environmental Protection Agency. This will be a proud Labor legacy, delivering on an election commitment that was proudly campaigned for by ALP branch members. The newly-established National Environmental Protection Agency will be a strong independent regulator with a clear focus on ensuring better compliance with and stronger enforcement of Australia's new laws. It would exercise a range of powers independently of the minister such as compliance and enforcement of the laws and project conditions, and the auditing of state and territory processes for project assessments and approvals against new national environmental standards. It is a needed regulator that will ensure environmental protections.

There will be reforms to allow the environment minister to meet the national environmental standards. These standards will set the boundaries for decisions to ensure they deliver improved environmental outcomes. Standards will protect the environment, give businesses clear rules and help decision-makers be fair and consistent.

What this means on the ground is that we can get to work on protecting, conserving and restoring important environmental areas and species. We can truly make up for the environmental damage of the past—try and reverse what has happened under the Liberals' and Nationals' neglect. We'll support better decision-making for the future and help the public understand and comment on projects. Another area where this bill will make real and lasting change is in ensuring a net gain for our environment. This means that, on the bottom line, we are contributing positively to the environment. Where an organisation can't, there are other avenues to offset that impact. When we enter any of our national parks, we each make a pledge to take only memories and leave only footprints. It's a reminder of our place in this world: to tread lightly, to not damage. This message should be for all individual people and big corporations. If you can't leave the environment how you found it, it's only right you contribute in other ways to its sustainability.

This bill will ensure that projects must leave the environment better off by introducing the concept of 'net gain' for environmental offsets. This is a shift from the current rules threshold, which is a 'no net loss' concept. This will shift the dial towards restoration, giving our native populations the opportunity to regenerate, recover and become more resilient. It means more steps towards improving our environment, not just accepting the way things are. We want to make renewable energy and sustainability the way of the future. This bill package recognises that a more efficient regulatory system is needed to enable better and faster decisions. More efficient and robust project assessments and approvals will allow us to better respond and deliver on national priorities, like the renewable energy transition and a Future Made in Australia.

We're making strides in the area of renewables. Around half of all electricity in the national grid came from renewable sources in September 2025—the highest monthly rate on record. We are tackling emissions and are confident we have the policies in place to deliver on our ambitious 2030 emission reduction targets. We are also here fighting to get this bill passed and these environmental protections enshrined.

We cannot allow for more division and inaction, and we cannot continue to delay. I stand here as a proud representative of my electorate, Cooper, whose people view the environment and the protection of our biodiversity as top of the agenda—our most pressing issue. Some parties have been arguing that the bill should contain a climate trigger. In his review, Graeme Samuel cautioned against trying to make the EPBC Act the mechanism to limit emissions directly. There is already legislation that limits emissions, called the safeguard mechanism. These bills, however, will require proponents to disclose their emissions and provide plans around how they will reduce their emissions in line with their safeguard mechanism obligation. These requirements, along with the establishment of an independent EPA and enforcement of the safeguard mechanism, will go a long way. In fact, Graeme Samuel has been publicly calling on the Greens and other parties to agree with this.

The steps proposed in these bills are huge. The steps proposed in these bills are important. The steps proposed in this bill will go a long way to making a difference in protecting our environment now and into the future. We need to pass them now. We need to start that work right away. We cannot wait any longer. As I said earlier, there's always more to do, but those who wait for the final step, before we even start, end up taking no steps at all. We've seen this before and we are committed to not letting that happen again, because every day we delay is a day our environment is degrading.

The government remains in communication with environment groups, and the environment movement, about what future steps we can take. I look forward to continuing to work with the minister and the environment movement, but at this exact moment I congratulate the minister, the government and the environment movement on developing these bills and taking the first steps to make change happen. For the environment, for the climate, for the future, I commend these bills to the House.

See this speech in context