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

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water, Senator Watt. Last week, you told the productivity roundtable that the Albanese government is committed to reforming Australia's environment laws. Will the government, with its huge majority in the lower house, seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to work with the Greens to protect Australia's native forests and deliver genuine, modern environmental law reform that finally recognises climate change?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Hanson-Young. The government is very committed to passing reforms to our environmental laws, and we would welcome support from either side of this chamber to do this. We well remember that when the government tried to amend our environmental laws prior to the election, we saw the 'no-alition' get back together, as they usually do, to block those reforms from going through. Senator Hanson-Young, that may well be a question worth putting to your own party room to ask, 'Are you prepared to work with Labor to pass these reforms?' Equally, is the coalition prepared to work with Labor to pass these reforms?

There's one thing I do agree with Senator Hanson-Young on in this matter, which is that our environmental laws as they currently stand are fundamentally broken. Graeme Samuel was appointed by the then environment minister Ms Ley, the now opposition leader, nearly five years ago, and he handed down a report which made recommendations founded on the finding that our environmental laws are not working for business and they're certainly not working for our environment.

In that five-year period, we've seen businesses held up with their investments through the current processes, and, more than anything, we've seen our environment suffer from the lack of protection in our current laws.

I've said publicly that we are open to working with either or both the coalition and the Greens when it comes to passing these reforms. We want to pass reforms that include strong environmental protections, quicker and more efficient approvals and assessments, and more transparency when it comes to environmental regulation.

Senator Hanson-Young, I note that, while I've been answering your question, your colleagues have been interjecting. Again, I think it points to the fact that there's a lot of work to do within the Greens party room to determine whether you're actually prepared to work with the government to pass these reforms or whether you follow your past actions of opposing our environmental laws in the last parliament, opposing the CPRS back in the Rudd-Gillard government. You've got a very good track record of stopping Labor making environmental reform— (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson-Young, first supplementary?

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

In his press conference after the productivity roundtable, the Treasurer said that the government would be consulting on 'some kind of coordinated general function to speed up approvals for big projects'. Who is being consulted, and is this consultation being run by you as Minister for the Environment and Water or another minister?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was very pleased to work on this suggestion, which came out of the economic roundtable, with the Treasurer, along with a number of other ministers. The Treasurer—in the process of establishing the Treasury's Front Door, which he has previously committed to and which is all about trying to better coordinate within government the way that government responds to different investment proposals—has said that we also intend to consult on the possibility of a Commonwealth coordinator-general, whose role would be not to issue approvals for projects but to better coordinate the various different approvals required within government. Typically, for example, if you had a major foreign investor who wanted to make an investment in Australia, they might require approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board, or they might require approval through the department that I now oversee. It's about better coordination of those approvals. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson-Young, second supplementary?

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

I note that the minister didn't answer the question as to whether he was running the consultation. I'm happy to take that on notice. Your own home state of Queensland has a role such as this. They spruik on their website that the majority of projects that they have sped up have been in the mineral and energy sector. Are you consulting on a model that is similar, and is this just a way to allow coal and gas companies to bypass environmental law?

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Wong?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Obviously, I'm sure Senator Watt can respond as he likes. I raise a point of order on whether the question was in order. My understanding of the senator's question is that it references a state government website.

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

If you had bothered to listen to the rest of the question—

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I did listen!

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

I said, 'What isn't'—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Hanson-Young! Senator Hanson-Young did reference a state government website but asked if that model was going to be used. It was simply a reference. The question is in order.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks Senator Hanson-Young. You are correct that Queensland is one of the states in Australia that has the role of coordinator-general. You've asked whether the role that we would be considering would be the same as that. The point of consultation is to develop a model. So we're not going into this having made the decision about that. We'll be talking to a range of parties, including the environment groups. I suspect I've probably had a lot more meetings with environment groups that you have lately, Senator Hanson-Young, in the process of drafting these reforms.

What I've heard from those environment groups is that they actually support the idea of faster and more efficient approvals and assessments, provided they are done in line with new national environmental safeguards. I would urge the Greens party, as these negotiations and the development of this legislation move forward, to pause the grandstanding for a little bit. You say that you like to listen to the environment movement. We're listening to the environment movement, just as we're listening to industry groups, and they all agree that they want faster approvals and stronger safeguards. You should do some listening to them. (Time expired)