Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I move the amendment as circulated in my name:

(1) Schedule 1, page 12 (after line 18), after item 60, insert:

60A After Subdivision FB of Division 1 of Part 3 of Chapter 2

Insert:

Subdivision FC — Clean air and water

24F Requirement for approval of activities that may affect air and water quality

(1) A constitutional corporation, or a Commonwealth agency that does not enjoy the immunities of the Commonwealth, commits an offence if the corporation or agency takes an action that:

(a) may produce an actual or potential adverse effect which may occur from air or water pollution, or from exposures to pollutants in other media, which pollutants originate as emissions to the ambient air; or

(b) may affect the air and water quality in national parks, national wilderness areas, national waterways and marine parks and areas impacting other matters of national environmental significance.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 7 years or 420 penalty units, or both.

Note 1: An executive officer of a body corporate convicted of an offence against this subsection may also commit an offence against section 495.

Note 2: If a person takes an action on land that contravenes this subsection, a landholder may commit an offence against section 496C.

(2) A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person takes an action that:

(i) may produce an actual or potential adverse effect which may occur from air or water pollution, or from exposures to pollutants in other media, which pollutants originate as emissions to the ambient air; or

(ii) may affect the air and water quality in national parks, national wilderness areas, national waterways and marine parks and areas impacting other matters of national environmental significance; and

(b) the action is taken for the purposes of trade or commerce:

(i) between Australia and another country; or

(ii) between 2 States; or

(iii) between a State and Territory; or

(iv) between 2 Territories.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 7 years or 420 penalty units, or both.

Note 1: An executive officer of a body corporate convicted of an offence against this subsection may also commit an offence against section 495.

Note 2: If a person takes an action on land that contravenes this subsection, a landholder may commit an offence against section 496C.

(3) A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person takes an action that:

(i) may produce an actual or potential adverse effect which may occur from air or water pollution, or from exposures to pollutants in other media, which pollutants originate as emissions to the ambient air; or

(ii) may affect the air and water quality in national parks, national wilderness areas, national waterways and marine parks and areas impacting other matters of national environmental significance; and

(b) the action is taken in:

(i) a Commonwealth area; or

(ii) a Territory.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 7 years or 420 penalty units, or both.

Note 1: An executive officer of a body corporate convicted of an offence against this subsection may also commit an offence against section 495.

Note 2: If a person takes an action on land that contravenes this subsection, a landholder may commit an offence against section 496C.

(4) Subsections (1) to (3) do not apply to an action if:

(a) an approval of the taking of the action by the constitutional corporation, Commonwealth agency or person is in operation under Part 9 for the purposes of this section; or

(b) there is in force a determination under section 79E that the action may continue to be taken and the action is taken in accordance with the conditions (if any) specified in the determination; or

(c) Part 4 lets the constitutional corporation, Commonwealth agency or person take the action without an approval under Part 9 for the purposes of this section; or

(d) there is in force a decision of the Minister under Division 2 of Part 7 that this section is not a controlling provision for the action and, if the decision was made because the Minister believed the action would be taken in a manner specified in the notice of the decision under section 77, the action is taken in that manner; or

(e) the action is an action described in subsection 160(2) (which describes actions whose authorisation is subject to a special environmental assessment process).

Note: The defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection (4). See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.

24F Requirement for informed public participation

The Minister must be satisfied that that any decision to permit increased air or water pollution in any area to which this Act applies is made only after careful evaluation of all the consequences of such a decision and after adequate procedural opportunities for informed public participation in the decision making process.

To ensure environmental protections and to underpin conservation, our ecology has to be protected as a whole. That's why I'm introducing an amendment to this bill to include clean air and water as matters of national environmental significance. Clean air and water are foundational to the health of our ecosystems, to human populations and to our planet at large. As the global community grapples with the escalating challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and public health crises, the protection of these vital resources has become more urgent than ever.

Safeguarding air and water quality is not just an environmental necessity; it's also a prerequisite for sustainable development and for human wellbeing. Air and water are integral components of the planet's life support systems. Clean air regulates climate, supports plant photosynthesis and maintains atmospheric balance. Similarly, clean water sustains aquatic ecosystems. It supports biodiversity, and it's essential for agriculture and for human consumption. Degradation of these resources through pollution disrupts ecological balance and leads to cascading effects across our ecosystems.

Air pollution, primarily from fossil fuel combustion, releases harmful substances, like particulate matter, nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide, which contribute to acid rain, smog formation and global warming. Water pollution introduces toxic substances into our rivers, wetlands, lakes and oceans. It affects aquatic life, causes algal blooms and harms biodiversity. Biodiversity underpins the resilience of ecosystems by supporting essential systems like pollination, nutrient cycling and climate regulation. Air and water pollution are among the leading drivers of biodiversity loss. According to the European Environment Agency, 73 per cent of ecosystems in the EU exceeded critical loads for nitrogen deposition in 2022. That threatens species diversity and ecosystem stability. Pollution induced by diversity loss is particularly severe in freshwater ecosystems, where reduced pH levels and chemical contamination, including with PFAS, disproportionally affect aquatic species. Airborne pollutants also damage forest and soil microbiomes; they weaken the ecological networks that sustain terrestrial biodiversity.

The link between environmental quality and public health is well established. Exposure to polluted air causes respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Contaminated water contributes to gastrointestinal infections, to neurological disorders and to developmental issues in children. The WHO estimated that, globally, air pollution causes seven million deaths every year. Last year, outdoor air pollution was estimated to be linked to almost 4,000 premature deaths in Australia alone.

Effective environmental governance is absolutely essential to protect air and water quality. Instruments such as the US Clean Air Act and the US Clean Water Act have already demonstrated the potential for regulatory frameworks to reduce pollution and to restore ecosystems.

As it is, this bill offers inadequate protection for the water trigger that we've already legislated in this House. Under the current laws, it is specifically excluded from bilateral approval agreements and from regional plans; under this bill, it is subject to devolution. We don't yet have the promised national environmental standards for matters of national environmental significance, but these could, in any case, be bypassed by ministerial rulings or by the national interest loophole. And this bill's definition of unacceptable impact is so loaded with qualifiers and sets a threshold so high that it will not capture habitat essential to the survival of even the most critically endangered species, nor will it prevent the contamination of groundwater aquifers.

So I propose this amendment, which seeks to raise clean air and water to the same level of national environmental significance as our most important environmental values. Australia's air and water would be protected from actions that would significantly impact their quality, and there would be civil penalties and offences in place to enforce those protections. I commend the amendment to the House.

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