Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Hansard source

I have a short statement; I'm not intending to ask the minister a question. It's been very difficult this afternoon to make a proper assessment of the Greens amendments, as they are still being tabled in the afternoon. So, for many of those, it's very difficult to vote for them, although they may have tremendous merit.

In my view, nature should be at the centre of all decision-making, and I'd like to think the Environment Reform Bill 2025 and related bills are an evolution to that. I don't think they get there, and I also do not believe that nature, in this bill, has a sufficient voice. The regulator may play a role in that, but I do think we need to have a paradigm shift in the way we structure our environmental protection laws—less binary about development and nature and more of a structure that can drive more sustainable development that lives in harmony with nature.

I appreciate the minister's kind comments on the Hon. Robert Hill. He saved me asking him a question, because I was going to ask whether the bill accommodates Robert Hill's submission, which I think was one of the more insightful submissions. I hold him in the highest regard, being a South Australian, and I would suspect that when he reviews the bill, if he has enough time, he will be well pleased with some of the work that you and your staff have done.

To those that may not forgive me for voting for some of the Greens amendments, I say it is too late to make a proper decision as a parliamentarian, and I may well abstain.