Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Leader of the Government in the Senate, representing the Prime Minister. On 30 October last year the government was handed the final report from Professor Graeme Samuel which reviewed the adequacy of Australia's environment laws. It was a damning assessment. That was more than three months ago. When will your government respond and implement laws that actually protect our environment and implement an independent watchdog to hold those who trash our environment and endanger our wildlife to account? When will your government act?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hanson-Young for her question. Indeed, it was our government that commissioned Graeme Samuel's review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, just as it was a coalition government that initially passed the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act back in the Howard government era. So this side of politics has a strong track record on the passage and delivery of legislation that provides nation-leading protection in relation to nationally significant areas of environmental protection.

We will respond in an appropriate way to the review by Graeme Samuel. We will do so in a timely manner. As you know, it was late last year that that report was handed to the government. We will do so in a manner where we are conscious of all of the recommendations and findings of Graeme Samuel in that review. Those recommendations found some areas for strengthening of environmental standards. They also found evidence that there is excessive bureaucracy or delays that occur in some areas that can be alleviated as well. So our government is determined to make sure that our environmental laws in Australia operate for the protection of our environment, but they should not unnecessarily act as a handbrake in relation to economic progress and development, particularly at this time of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is essential that those laws, where possible, also facilitate growth of job opportunities and employment opportunities and avoid, wherever possible, duplication between Commonwealth laws and state and territory laws or Commonwealth approvals processes and state and territory approvals processes. So we will respond to that report and, as appropriate, bring different packages of legislation to the parliament.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson-Young, a supplementary question?

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The independent reviewer, Graeme Samuel, said in his report that the government should remove the exemption of regional forestry agreements from the EPBC Act and require logging in native forests to be assessed against national environmental standards. Does the government commit to doing this, and when will you do it?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We will respond to the report in a comprehensive way, as the government always do. Professor Samuel made many findings in his report, including in relation to forestry. He also made findings in relation to the way in which the EPBC Act operates for the environment but also for business. We will work alongside stakeholders as we finalise our formal response to the recommendations. In fact, I understand that Minister Ley met with a stakeholder group last week to discuss the process and the work around responding to those recommendations. Professor Samuel's work was comprehensive. He engaged across Australia, and so we will make sure we apply a comprehensive approach to responding to that report too.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson-Young, a final supplementary question?

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke saved the Franklin from damming. Malcolm Fraser saved the whales from whaling. Is this Prime Minister a leader that will save our native forests?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We will work hard indeed to ensure, in responding to this report, we do so in ways that save native forests whilst also saving forestry jobs. We will also work hard, as our government is doing across the board, in terms of other aspects of environmental leadership.

This is a government that has banned the export of plastic waste from Australia. This is a government that is investing significantly in the recycling and re-use capabilities of Australia and showing environmental leadership with the reforms that are there and the actions being taken, by Prime Minister Morrison in particular, to provide for better management of plastics in Australia and environmental leadership in that space. It will continue to do so in that space, and others, around the protection of Australia's unique nationally significant environmental assets. Indeed, that is what the EPBC Act, implemented by a coalition government, is designed to do. This government will make sure its response to this review delivers upon that. (Time expired)