Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We all come to this place with a solemn promise to make our country better for future generations. At times we've taken steps towards that promise, at times we've fallen short, and every so often we achieve something that truly honours it. Today is one of those days. Today we've secured an agreement that delivers the most significant overhaul of our environmental laws since the Hawke government. This is not just a policy change; it is a generational leap forward. For the first time, Australia will have a strong, independent national environment protection agency. We will impose tougher penalties for the gravest environmental breaches and we will give our nation the power to act swiftly when nature is under threat.

This reform meets the scale of the challenge before us. We will also make it easier to build the things our country needs, such as housing, renewable energy and critical mineral projects. This infrastructure will mean future generations will be able to thrive. We are all custodians of this land and we must leave it better than we found it. I thank the Prime Minister and the Minister for the Environment and Water for delivering on that promise and for honouring a proud Labor tradition—the one that knows that economic growth and environmental stewardship must always go hand in hand.

See this speech in context