Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Indi both for raising the legislation and for following what has been a theme for the member for Indi in her entire time in this place, which is community consultation and involving the community in decision-making.

The environment legislation that's before the chamber is aimed quite squarely at being able to deliver better outcomes for the environment and also a faster decision-making process. As part of that, as people know, it's based closely on the Samuel report. The Samuel report noted that the act, as it's currently portrayed, doesn't have clear standards or clear benchmarks. One of the areas that Graeme Samuel referred to in terms of where these benchmarks and standards could be established is with respect to community consultation. It's raised directly there. We've said that soon we'll be making draft standards available for matters of national environmental significance and for offsets as well as the First Nations engagement standard. Data and compliance would come next. None of these standards actually have force until they have legislation to bounce off and to launch from.

The Samuel review recommended other standards, including a community consultation standard. I know the minister is looking into it, and my understanding is that the minister has spoken directly to the member for Indi about community consultation standards as well. But, as I say, to be clear, we can't actually make any standards until the bill has become law. This is where we have had a long time with the Samuel report not becoming law. For a long time, since this bill was commissioned in 2019 and handed to the then environment minister, now the opposition leader, in 2020, we have had five years where the recommendations have been there for a better outcome—where the recommendations have been made for outcomes that would deliver a better outcome for the environment and a better outcome for business—and we have not had the situation where the legislation has been before the parliament, to make its way through the parliament. Right now it's before us, and we have an opportunity now to put the legislation through, which would, among different things, provide the opportunity for the exact sorts of standards that the member for Indi is putting in place. I just hope, as all members on this side hope, that the parliament takes the opportunity to finally follow through on recommendations that have been waiting too long. During that time, the environment has suffered; business has suffered. It's time to get this done.

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