Renee Coffey (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Every generation gets only a few chances to do something significant that truly lasts. For ours, this is one of them—to renew the laws that protect the only home we have. These reforms are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect and restore our natural world and to pass on an Australia that is cleaner, greener and fairer than the one we inherited. In Griffith, we don't have to look far to see what's at stake. From the mangrove edges of Norman Creek to the summit views at Whites Hill Reserve, our community is stitched together by green corridors that give life and character to our suburbs. At dawn, rowers cut through the Brisbane River as mist hangs over the water. By dusk, lorikeets return to the canopies in our many bush corridors. These rhythms are part of who we are. Every weekend, I meet locals who tell me how much they treasure these places—people who walk our bush trails in the Seven Hills Bushland Reserve, kayak the reaches of the Brisbane River or volunteer with our many local conservation groups. Their work is quiet, local and deeply powerful. They plant, they restore, and they remind us that protecting the environment starts right here in our own backyards. The Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 honours their work and gives Australia a framework that finally matches their local efforts.

The current EPBC laws date back to the Howard era in 1999, more than a quarter of a century ago. We all know these laws are simply not fit for purpose. They're outdated and broken. Across Australia, too many species are in decline, too many habitats are shrinking, and too many communities are weighed down by processes that are slow and inconsistent and lack the transparency that our communities rightly demand. Independent experts have urged us to act. In 2020, Professor Graeme Samuel's review told us the truth. The system is failing the environment and the people who depend on it. He has been plain about the urgency, saying this has been urgent for decades. From an economic perspective, as Dr Ken Henry warned at the National Press Club in July, policy paralysis must be unacceptable. These reforms answer that call. They bring our environmental laws into the 21st century, making them balanced, robust and forward-looking laws that protect what's precious while giving our communities and industry the clarity and rulebooks to support our local and national needs.

As you can see, there is a lot in these bills, all necessary to deliver a comprehensive overhaul of our existing regulatory landscape. The first is setting clear national rules. We will put in place national environmental standards—simple, enforceable rules so decisions are consistent across the country and everyone knows the bar they have to meet. The second is creating a strong, independent umpire, a national environmental protection agency, who will do the day-to-day regulating, assessing, licensing and enforcing, with the powers to make the rules stick. The third is ending the profit-from-pollution model. Penalties go up, and ill-gotten gains can be stripped so doing the wrong thing never pays. The fourth is making restoration real. If a project causes harm to nature, it must deliver a genuine net gain, leaving the environment better than before, not just promising to offset the damage on paper. The fifth is drawing hard lines. Some impacts are simply unacceptable. This bill makes those red lines clear so irreplaceable places and species are not put at risk. The sixth is speeding up good projects, not bad ones. If you bring strong information and meet the standards, your assessment pathway is streamlined—faster, clearer and less duplication. The last is shining a brighter light. Better data, open reporting and transparent decisions mean communities can see what's proposed, what's approved and why and hold us all to account. Put together, this is a fair system that rewards those who do the right thing, stops the shortcuts and rebuilds public trust while protecting the places we love.

Protection also means looking after the living neighbours we share our suburbs with. Our koalas still move along the green corridors of Norman Creek and Bulimba Creek, across Whites Hill Reserve and through the remnant bushland that stitches Camp Hill, Coorparoo and Holland Park together. In summer, flying foxes crisscross the night sky, powerful owls haunt tall eucalypts and water dragons sunbathe behind local sporting ovals. Along the riverbank, mangroves filter and protect, quietly doing the heavy lifting that keeps our city livable. In the melaleuca wetlands in Cannon Hill, the paperbarks offer shade and birdsong reminds us to take a moment to slow down. But these places are more than scenery; they are working habitat corridors. When we strengthen them, koalas have safer passages to feed and breed, urban heat is lowered by canopy and stormwater has somewhere to slow and settle. When we lose them, we don't just lose species; we lose the resilience, amenity and natural character that makes Griffith feel like home.

Yes, some of the most distinctive locals are the bush stone-curlews, the long-legged night watchers whose calls have startled more than a few new residents of Coorparoo and Camp Hill. It's a majestic bird that was undeniably robbed of the honour of being the Australian bird of the year; 2026 will be the curlew's year. Australian bird of the year or not, our job is to make sure the curlew still has safe places to nest and raise its young, just as these reforms strengthen protections for koala feed trees, creek-line vegetation and the mangroves that shelter juvenile fish.

That is at the heart of this reform—practical steps that protect and restore the flora and fauna that define our ecosystems. Clear national standards, genuine restoration requirements and a strong independent regulator mean local bush care is backed by national law. Approvals will respect science and community, and the net-gain approach will leave nature better than we found it. If we do this well, the next generation will inherit healthier creeks, thicker canopy and continued birdsong at dusk, living proof that our nature is not just surviving but thriving.

Conservation decisions outlive us. The Franklin, the Daintree and Kakadu endure because previous generations acted with courage. Koongarra, Ningaloo, the Murray-Darling and our oceans stand protected because leaders chose to protect what we love. I'm proud to be a member of the Australian Labor Party, the party that has delivered every single major environmental reform in our nation's history. When Australians think of the moments we chose protection over short-term convenience, they remember Labor governments taking responsibility and acting with courage. In the seventies, it was under Gough Whitlam that we established the first federal department of the environment, blocked drilling plans in the Great Barrier Reef, ratified the World Heritage Convention, and passed the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act. In the eighties, it was under Bob Hawke that we used World Heritage powers to protect wild rivers, returned Uluru to traditional owners, launched Landcare, led the international push to ban mining in Antarctica and adopted greenhouse gas reduction targets. In the nineties, it was under Paul Keating that we protected K'gari from logging and mining and introduced the Endangered Species Protection Act and the Indigenous protected areas process. In the 2000s, it was under Kevin Rudd that we ratified the Kyoto Protocol within days of taking office, launched Caring for our Country, a major landscape-scale biodiversity investment, and provided long-term funding to the Working on Country Indigenous rangers program. In the 2010s, it was under a Gillard government that we established the Climate Change Authority for independent advice, forged the Tasmanian forestry agreement to protect high-value native forests and expanded the Commonwealth marine parks to 3.1 million square kilometres, making it the largest network in the world.

And now, under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, we have signed the Leaders Pledge for Nature, adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and moved on the Nature Repair Act to create a framework for private biodiversity investment. We've protected an extra 95 million hectares of Australian oceans and land, extending marine parks around Macquarie Island and Heard Island and McDonald Islands. We've established Environment Information Australia to give the public and businesses easier access to the latest environmental data. We've doubled funding to better look after our national parks, including Kakadu, doubled the Indigenous Rangers Program, invested over $600 million to protect threatened flora and fauna and tackle feral animals and weeds, and invested $200 million to clean up our rivers. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it demonstrates our courage to rise to the challenge and do the work to put in place effective laws that protect our natural environment.

While those opposite are tearing themselves apart and wanting to take Australia backwards, this bill continues this proud Labor story—looking forward, not backward. These reforms are the product of years of listening. I want to acknowledge the scientists, conservationists, renewable energy advocates, farmers, planners, local councils and industry groups who have shared their expertise and passion.

I want to thank the Labor Environment Action Network, LEAN, whose persistence and vision have helped keep environmental reform on the national agenda. I've been a proud member of LEAN for many years, part of a grassroots movement of Labor members and supporters working to ensure the environment remains at the centre of our politics. As an ALP national conference delegate, last year I supported a motion from LEAN about the proposed development at Moreton Bay's Toondah Harbour. The development would have had an absolutely unacceptable impact on the Ramsar-listed wetland and on threatened species, such as the critically endangered eastern curlew. With my support, this motion was passed at National Conference in August 2024. Shortly following this, Minister Tanya Plibersek proposed rejecting the development due to its unacceptable environmental impact, and the proposal was soon withdrawn. It meant a lot to me when I was identified as a LEAN climate and environment champion nationally, and, now, as a member of this place, I am proud to continue this agenda.

Since coming into office I have met with climate action and environment groups, in my electorate of Griffith and nationally, to listen to their concerns and to share important messages from the government. In these first few months, I have met with more than 20 groups and local constituents to discuss climate change and the environment, and I want to acknowledge their advocacy. The groups have included the Griffith Australian Conservation Foundation and Wilderness Society groups, and their federal counterparts; the Australian Youth Climate Coalition; Parents for Climate; WWF Australia and many more. We have also hosted a roundtable with local environmental and climate change groups, with the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Josh Wilson, and doorknocked local residents in my community alongside the Minister for the Environment and Water, Senator Murray Watt.

Environmental reform sits at the centre of nearly every challenge our nation faces. Whether it's building homes or transport, securing clean and reliable energy, supporting farmers and fishers, protecting water systems and preparing for a changing climate, all of it depends on the health of our environment and the rules that approvals are pinned to. These reforms give clarity to those who build, who invest, who grow and who care for the land. They ensure progress does not come at the expense of nature but in partnership with it. This is not about saying no to development; it's about saying yes to doing it better. When we get that balance right, we build not just environmental protection; we build national resilience, confidence and pride.

I want to acknowledge Professor Samuel for his excellent work in delivering recommendations that were supported by environment, First Nations and industry stakeholders alike. This is our moment to show courage and leadership together. Australians want us to act. The scientists and ecologists, planners, catchment managers and community volunteers and Professor Graeme Samuel have told us clearly what is needed. He has urged cooperation across politics and reminded us: 'don't let perfect be the enemy of good'. He has said:

What we are talking about here is the future of nature for our children, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He has also been clear that this package reflects the totality of his review's recommendations. There is no variation, in any significant or, indeed, any small way, from the recommendations of the review. As Dr Ken Henry concluded in his National Press Club address, 'We have had all the reviews we need.' As he said: 'It is now up to parliament. Let's just get it done.'

So to every member of this parliament—government, opposition and crossbench: let's meet this moment. Let us work across differences and pass the reforms our experts have asked for and our communities deserve. Many commentators and politicians want to frame this legislation as a tug of war between the environment and the economy; they assert a false choice that you can have one but not the other. This is plain wrong. You don't have to choose between the environment and jobs and business. You can protect and improve our environment while removing duplication and speeding up decisions. That was at the heart of Professor Samuel's report. In the same way that we moved beyond the notion that you could act on climate change or have jobs, we must move beyond this false choice when it comes to nature.

When we think of Australia's great environmental victories—the Franklin, the Daintree and Kakadu—they were never easy, but they still endure. And, in this moment, our communities and experts are asking us to choose progress over protest and outcomes over outrage—to work side by side, to deliver for the environment, to support business to deliver the homes and clean energy that we need, and to hand on a healthier environment to the next generation. Let us not miss this chance.

The House transcript was published up t o 20:55 . The remainder of the transcript will be published progressively as it is completed.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Lawrence ) took the chair at 12:38, a division having been called in the House of Representatives.

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