Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Macquarie for her question. Of course, she represents a beautiful part of Australia, the Blue Mountains, which is such an important part of our environment. It links in the urban community of Sydney with the magnificent Blue Mountains area. Indeed, Graeme Samuel is the person who was commissioned by the Liberal and National party government. They chose to commission the report; they ignored it. But finally it's taken this government to put it in place. This is what he had to say today: 'The summation of my position now is one of relief and total elation. Because at long last, after just over five years, the review recommendations are being implemented in total. What we've got now is progress.' That is what Graeme Samuel had to say.

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies said, 'AMEC has been working to support the best deal possible, and this is it.' It went on to say: 'The agreement finally unlocks progress on reforms industry has sought for as long as anyone can remember. The minerals industry will be a primary beneficiary of these changes.' The Australian Industry Group said in an article titled 'EPBC reforms strike the right balance between development and the environment':

The reforms before Parliament to fix our primary environmental laws, while not perfect, provide much needed clarity for essential development and necessary protection for our environment.

The Property Council of Australia said:

This reform ends years of uncertainty and delivers the most significant overhaul of environmental laws in a generation.

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… that gives businesses greater certainty, supports better environmental outcomes and speeds up housing supply.

The Housing Industry Association said:

These … reforms would make a marked difference in turning the dial on fast tracking new approvals and clearing the massive backlog of approvals awaiting the green light.

Dr Ken Henry said:

The Australian Parliament has done its job and restored national leadership to environmental protection and repair.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia said: 'The progress of the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 signals that critical and long-awaited reform is finally underway.'

We made it very clear we wanted to negotiate across the board. Unfortunately, the rabble opposite couldn't get their act together. But we have got this done.

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