Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Last year Professor Graeme Samuel undertook an independent, once-in-a-decade review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act, the legislative framework that sets out how the natural environment is managed and protected in this county. His conclusion was that the laws are unfit for purpose, outdated and ineffective. In other words, Australia's current environmental laws are failing to protect the places that matter and which we love.

Regrettably this came as no surprise, because for years Australian scientists have been telling us our ecosystems—from rainforests to coral reefs, to deserts and even our kelp forests down in Tassie—are on the verge of collapse. There's simply no doubt that Australia's natural environment and iconic places are under increasing threat from deforestation, development and climate change, and that we have one of the highest extinction rates in the world, and that our weak environmental laws are adding to the problem.

The sorry fact is that we can't trust this government to fix the problem, because time and time again it has shown its disdain for the environment. The government didn't even wait for Professor Samuel's landmark review to be completed before it tried to weaken our laws further, and many in this place will remember September last year when the federal government pushed through a bill to give environmental approval powers to the states and territories with no safeguards, no oversight and no regulation.

Shamefully most members of the House were prevented from speaking, and foreshadowed amendments were blocked without debate.

Mind you, the government was already well and truly determined to advance its agenda of construction and destruction, as evidenced by the fact it was already discussing the idea of handing environmental approval powers to the states and territories with the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy way back in 2019, well before Professor Samuel had even published his interim report.

And now the government is pushing forward with an Environmental Assurance Commissioner, which has no power to investigate proponents, no power to compel provision of information and no power to actually fix anything. This toothless tiger wouldn't even have the power to investigate individual decisions related to projects, and it appears to have completely ignored Professor Samuel's recommendation for an independent Office of Compliance and Enforcement.

It's clear that reform is necessary. Indeed just last year the Australian National Audit Office found that the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment's administration of referrals, assessments and approvals of controlled actions under the EPBC Act are not effective, that reporting arrangements are not consistent with the Act and that outcomes are not being monitored.

Remarkably the ANAO found that, of the approvals examined, almost 80 per cent contained conditions that were non-compliant with guidance or contained errors, significantly reducing the department's ability to monitor conditions or achieve the intended environmental outcome.

Moreover there is no conflict of interest register for staff working on the assessment processes or within the compliance division. There's no protection against bias, political interference or even corruption. This is a total failure of regulation, and yet the environment minister still wants to keep regulation in house.

That's why today I'm introducing a bill which establishes a Commonwealth Environment Protection Authority. This EPA will be a completely independent body that depoliticises, streamlines and strengthens environmental regulation. And it will be structurally independent from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, a move which will bolster community confidence in the processes that are supposed to protect and conserve our natural environment.

This bill ensures that the EPA will effectively and transparently exercise the administrative functions currently held by the Commonwealth concerning the EPBC Act, as well as any other federal legislation relating to the environment. This includes issuing approvals, granting permits, auditing environmental impact assessments, and monitoring post-approval impacts. The EPA will have the power to undertake both systemic and individual investigations into applications, environmental impact statements, or any other documents received in support of an application. Moreover the EPA will have the power to terminate an approval, or even issue a stop work order, in circumstances where serious environmental harm has been caused or is imminent.

Importantly the EPA will also have a call-in power for monitoring, compliance and enforcement even when a state or territory bilateral agreement has been made.

Moreover the EPA will be headed by an appropriately qualified CEO who is independently appointed for a fixed term, and supported by a newly established parliamentary joint committee on the environment and energy. And to avoid even a perception of bias, the senior staff will be prevented from having any potential conflicts of interest, including employment as a politician or lobbyist in the five years preceding appointment to the EPA.

I call on both major parties to support this bill. It's practical, has community support, and will deliver real outcomes for our environment. This is not a contentious proposal. Regularly independent statutory watchdogs are created to oversee complex areas of policy, or where there is a risk of bias, corruption or conflicts of interest. Communications and media companies are overseen by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, consumer law is overseen by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is charged with looking after markets and financial services. And I've been working with my crossbench colleagues for years to establish an Independent Commission Against Corruption to clean up our political institutions and tackle corruption.

So now, when we're seeing the imminent collapse of precious ecosystems, when Australia is a world leader in extinctions and when we're already facing unprecedented threats from climate change, a strong independent regulator is more important than ever. This is especially the case for Tasmania where the state government has recently passed the major projects bill, which allows it to fast-track dodgy projects and where, without a federal compliance body, the state government could ram through projects like Cambria Green, badly sited salmon farms, the Mount Wellington cable car, or obviously inappropriate developments in national parks. As our swift parrot population dwindles and our World Heritage places are threatened, an EPA is more important than ever for Tasmania.

This bill is supported by the Places You Love Alliance, a group of key environmental groups which represent communities across the country. This includes groups like the World Wildlife Fund Australia, the Wilderness Society, Australian Conservation Foundation, Birdlife Australia, Humane Society International and Environmental Justice Australia. I thank the Alliance and the Environmental Defenders Office for their support and assistance on this bill. And I also single out Frances Medlock from my office who has worked tirelessly on the project.

The fact is that, time and time again, governments have failed to ensure effective enforcement of our environmental laws. And time and time again this has been exposed, for example by the Australian National Audit Office, the Productivity Commission, independent reviews of the EPBC Act, and the Australian Panel of Experts of Environmental Law. Clearly we need to act. And just as clearly we need to act now.

I commend this bill to the House and I invite the member for Melbourne, who is seconding the bill, to speak in my remaining time.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. The relentless destruction of Australia's habitat is causing constant upgrading of the risk to our animals to 'endangered', 'critically endangered' and 'extinct'. Our iconic biodiversity is under greater threat today than at any time in human history. Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction in the world. We are driving this destruction directly through developers, mining and state governments, like in my state of Victoria where we're seeing the wilful destruction of the Djab Wurrung trees. We're also indirectly threatening every crevice of our vast lands and oceans by burning coal, oil and gas. There's no creature or habitat that will be untouched by the climate crisis.

In the 22 years that the EPBC Act has been in place, we can confirm that we cannot leave the protection of our habitat and endangered species in the hands of the establishment parties, because they take donations from developers, from coal, oil and gas companies, and from the businesses that profit from destruction. They can't be trusted to protect the places and the creatures that Australians love. They will bend the assessments to suit their donors and the proponents of projects. I'm pleased that the member for Clark has brought this bill to the House, because the only solution to this ongoing corruption and devastation of our environment is the creation of an independent assessment process, which this bill proposes. This bill backs in the Greens' long-held policy of independence in environmental assessment, and we do commend the bill to the House.

I will give one example in my remaining time. Look at the Toondah wetlands in Queensland. It's a globally important wetland for birds that travel halfway around the world to eat and rest. Property developer and donor Walker Corporation wants to turn it into 3,000 apartments, a marina and a hotel. What did the previous environment minister, the member for Kooyong, do? He proposed to the Queensland minister that they redraw the boundary of the wetlands so that the donor can get what they want. It's this kind of behaviour that we need to stop.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.