Madonna Jarrett (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the last few days, there has been a lot of discussion and divisions around the environmental protection reforms—a busy day today!—but it's clear from today that these historic reforms are at risk of being blocked by the Greens political party and the LNP. I absolutely don't want to see this happen, and neither does my community of Brisbane. We really are at a pivotal moment in time when we can do something very special—protect our environment while enabling our communities to flourish with affordable housing, renewable energy and infrastructure. In the words of David Attenborough: 'The truth is the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have, and we need to defend it.' It's also true that our environment and economy are intrinsically linked. Agriculture, resources and our tourism sector all rely on a healthy natural environment.

In July last year, the Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions at ANU reported a few things. One, our continent has warmed almost 1½ degrees. Our rainfall patterns have changed, and we are experiencing more frequent periods of extreme weather, such as droughts, bushfires and flooding. Our land surface has been significantly modified, and at least 19 ecosystems are collapsing due to climate change and other pressures. I know, with some despair, that it's not possible to reverse this decline; however, I do believe we really are at a turning point. We can't deny the science, but we can build a coalition across the community to help solve the problems and keep the lights on. Government, business and environmental groups must continue to work together to protect our environment and enable the economic benefits of sustainable development.

With the introduction of Labor's environmental reform bills, we have the opportunity now to take real action to protect, conserve and restore our important environmental areas and species. That's why this term the Labor government has really prioritised a number of things: reforming these laws to make them fit for purpose while also taking real action on climate change and protecting the environment, and protecting and conserving 30 per cent of Australia's land and 30 per cent of our marine areas by 2030. This is backed by significant investment, a $200 million investment to help meet the 30 by 30 targets, in addition to $232-and-a-bit million for the Indigenous Protected Areas program and $25 million to protect critical biodiversity areas. Our ambitious plan to stop species extinction is directly supported by another half a billion plus to support the recovery of threatened species and ecological communities. This investment really will help rebuild some of our most vulnerable species and prevent further extinction. We also went to the last election committing to 40 diverse local projects, which will be delivered through local conservation groups, Landcare et cetera.

I stand here today really proud of Labor's environmental record. Labor is the party that has delivered every single major environmental reform in Australia's history: Landcare, saving the Franklin, protecting Daintree and Kakadu and building the largest network of marine parks in the world, in addition to addressing the threat of climate change. And, if we really think about it, the list of climate and environmental reform since the election of the Albanese Labor government in 2022 has shifted the conversation on how Australia can be a good global citizen and play its part.

To pass these laws, Labor needs the support of those opposite and in the Senate. The last time we tried to create a federal EPA, the Greens political party and the coalition blocked it in the Senate. We thought that was bad enough then, but let's fast forward now to November 2025, and the introduction of the EPA is again at risk because of the coalition and the Greens political party. They're incapable of putting self-interest aside and working with the government to introduce much-needed reforms. The coalition appears to be completely bereft when it comes to clearly articulating what their environmental policy is, so it's no wonder we're where we are, and the Greens political party voted against the bill in the House this morning, which is mind-boggling given their background. It's time to help support this bill. The people of Brisbane and those around Australia voted for environmental reforms. This bill is fair and balanced. It protects our environment and ensures net positive outcomes. I urge the opposition and the crossbench to be on the right side of history here and support it.

House adjourned at 17 : 00

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Boyce ) took the chair at 09:29.