Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member is clearly a little embarrassed about what is happening under his party at the moment. It seems unlikely that they will learn from these mistakes of the past and reverse direction. In fact, it looks like his colleagues are walking away from net zero. I understand that's probably a shame for the member for Goldstein, but he does not currently have the numbers, it seems. Good luck to him in his efforts to get them.

Since 2022 our government has turned the page on that track record. We have passed strong laws to cut emissions and put Australia on the path to net zero by 2050, including strong 2035 reduction targets to get us there. We've committed to achieving 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030, with more than 100 clean energy projects already underway. We've protected 95 million hectares of Australian land and ocean, an area almost the size of Germany, Italy and Norway combined. We've expanded marine parks around Macquarie Island and the Heard and McDonald islands. We've established Environment Information Australia, giving the public and business easier access to transparent environmental data. We've doubled funding for our national parks, including Kakadu and Uluru. We've invested $1.3 billion to expand the Indigenous Rangers Program, delivered $600 million to protect threatened species, and created the world's first nature repair market, unlocking private investment in environmental restoration. It is a strong record, but we know there is more to do, and that is why this bill is before the House.

These reforms are the product of one of the most extensive consultation processes ever undertaken in the environmental policy space. As I said before, I want to pay tribute to the individuals, environment groups and business groups—the stakeholders—who have all engaged constructively in that process. Minister Watt and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water have conducted more than 100 meetings, forums and roundtables across the country.

Of course, as I said, these reforms are built on the recommendations of the review conducted by Graeme Samuel: a review commissioned by those opposite—by the now leader of the opposition—but which, unfortunately, they could not follow through on. It's taken a Labor government to get this bill before the House. Under Labor, we're delivering the change that that review called for: modern, balanced and enforceable national environmental laws. We're delivering reforms that reflect the best available science, the most up-to-date policy thinking and the real-world feedback from those who live with the consequences of inaction on protecting our environment.

This is something that people in my community in Jagajaga care deeply about. I'm particularly lucky, as are members of my community, to live in one of Melbourne's most biodiverse regions. It's home to bushland, wetlands and parklands—the lungs of our suburbs. Locals are passionate about the Yarra River, the Banyule Flats, the Warringal Parklands and the Darebin and Diamond creeks, and these are all areas where volunteers and community have been working for decades to protect habitat, restore native vegetation and preserve the wildlife that makes our area of Melbourne so special. I give a shout-out to community groups like Friends of Edendale farm, Friends of Yarra Flats Park, Darebin Creek Management Committee, Warringal Conservation Society, our local Landcare networks and many more, who have regularly contacted me both about this bill and about the need for stronger national laws to protect nature.

The people who are contacting me are concerned about declining biodiversity, the loss of tree canopy and the impact of urban expansion on local waterways and ecosystems. These are the people who get up on weekends to plant trees, pick up rubbish and teach our kids about the importance of caring for country. Their passion and stewardship reflect the best of our community, and their message to me has been clear: they want stronger, fairer and more effective environmental laws. Throughout the development of this bill, I've been proud to make sure that their voices have been part of the consideration that has gone into drafting.

This bill does deliver clear standards, transparent decision-making and a federal EPA that can take action where breaches occur. It ensures that people who live alongside our natural areas, those who know them best, have confidence that they will be protected for the future.

The bill is built on three key pillars: stronger environmental protection and restoration, more efficient and robust project assessments, and greater accountability and transparency in environmental decision-making. At its heart, this reform will create Australia's first independent, national environmental protection agency: a tough, science based regulator to enforce one clear set of national rules. This will mean that, when environmental harm occurs, there will be consequences—real ones—with no more loopholes and no more shifting blame between levels of government. There'll be a genuine cop on the beat with the authority to investigate, audit and stop harmful environmental activities before they do permanent damage.

The need for these laws could not be clearer. Every day of delay in updating these laws is damaging our environment and costing business time and money. The average time it takes to approve a major project has more than doubled since 2004. Meanwhile, Australia's native species continue to decline at alarming rates, and habitat destruction remains one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss. Communities see developers fast-tracked while local concerns are sidelined. They see companies breach environmental conditions and face little or no consequence. And they have seen, for too long, governments, such as those from the other side, pass responsibility from one level to another while the environment pays the price. Our current system is fragmented, outdated and failing both the environment and business.

So that is why this bill is so important: to modernise the act, to streamline approvals and to bring consistency, transparency and accountability to a process that, in too many cases, has lost public trust. The federal environmental protection agency, an independent national watchdog with strong powers, will have the ability to audit state and territory approval processes, issue stop-work orders to halt damaging activity, impose stronger penalties on repeat offenders and give communities a clear way to report breaches and see real action taken. The EPA will operate independently of political pressure. It will publish data on environmental outcomes, monitor compliance and help ensure that environmental decisions are based on evidence, not influence.

The bill also defines what constitutes unacceptable environmental impacts so that projects causing irreversible damage cannot be approved. A new offsets regime will ensure that, where environmental impacts cannot be avoided, developers must deliver measurable and lasting benefits elsewhere. This achieves a net gain for nature rather than simply offset losses. Importantly, bioregional and regional planning will provide greater clarity for communities and investors alike. These plans will identify no-go zones, areas of critical habitat, high-conservation value and cultural significance that must be protected while guiding responsible development to areas where environmental impacts can be minimised.

This approach balances protection and progress. It supports environmental certainty and investment and business confidence at the same time. Strong and clear boundaries, formal rules and no room for ambiguity: our environment deserves nothing less. We have too many precious places and too many precious species still being lost in this country. It's on all of us in here to make sure that we do all that we can to end that loss. That means working together to pass these laws.

These rules will also improve efficiency. They will cut red tape for business by removing duplication of Commonwealth and state processes. They will create clear and consistent national standards and save businesses time and money while improving outcomes for nature. The Productivity Commission estimates that these reforms could deliver up to $7 billion in economic benefits through faster and more-efficient approvals. That's a win for business, it's a win for workers and it's a clear win for our environment.

This bill represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity. As I said, it reflects the commitment our government made to voters at the last election to get this done. We are very focused on restoring integrity to environmental decision-making. We want to strengthen protection for our most precious ecosystems. We want to ensure that those who damage the environment are held to account. We do all of that with this bill.

We are also conscious that we cannot do it alone. For these reforms to be successful, we will need support from the Liberals or we will need support from the Greens. I say to the members of this parliament: this is our chance to do this once-in-a-generation reform. This is our chance to halt the loss that we have seen—the loss of biodiversity and the loss of species, which is unacceptable—and to work together to protect our environment. I started with a series of questions about the attitudes of those opposite and their commitment to this bill. Those questions remain but, as we debate the bill in this House, we have before us the opportunity for those opposite to answer them—and in fact to answer them positively for nature, to answer them positively for our environment for generations to come, and to answer them positively for business and for the work that needs to happen to continue to develop the infrastructure that our country needs. There is an opportunity here for our environment and for this parliament to do the work that has been far too long in coming—to do the work that it takes Labor governments to do—and to work with passionate advocates who have continued to stand up for our environment and who have worked with us on a set of reforms that, while long overdue, will deliver real gains for our environment.

It's now over to this parliament to do the necessary work to make sure that what's been in train for so long, since Graeme Samuel started his review, which is now reflected in these bills, becomes a reality for our environment, for our country and for the future of biodiversity in our country.

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