Barbara Pocock (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given to our many questions on the EPBC Act.

The EPBC package is a backward step for our environment and for climate. The Greens have been very clear: we will not rubberstamp laws that fail to protect our native forests, that let down our precious habitat with continuous land clearing, that leave our wildlife unprotected and that don't take action on climate. These are pro-mining, pro-logging laws that Labor is trying to rush through the parliament. They have the mining industry's fingerprints all over them; look no further than BHP, Chevron, the minerals council—all delighted at the prospect of these environmental laws, which will be rammed through if Labor get their way.

These bills are riddled with carve-out clauses to suit industry—carve-outs, loopholes, scope for more and more ministerial discretion. Climate and impacts are still not to be required to be assessed under the federal environmental laws—completely unsatisfactory. Large-scale deforestation will be able to continue. Bulldozers and chainsaws will have free reign, and the minister will have increased discretional powers. The minister will not rule out fast-tracking new coal and gas through these changes. The so-called national interest power in these bills would allow the minister to approve certain projects that might otherwise be rejected. The Greens cannot pass these so-called environmental laws as they stand in their current state. We need laws that protect nature, stop native forest logging, actually factor in the climate crisis and don't fast-track coal and gas, and this is not them.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For years, we have been gearing up for a long-overdue reform of Australia's environmental laws—a reform that should reflect the urgency of the climate crisis. Yet this government has proposed a profoundly disappointing set of so-called reforms. These proposed laws are weaker than the ones that we already have and risk taking us backwards. Many in our community would find it appalling that this government continues to prioritise corporations over our environment. Labor's decision to greenlight the North West Shelf gas extension to 2070 makes it crystal clear that this government refuses to confront the long-term consequences of its choices. These new laws won't stop new coal or gas projects. The government is failing to stop the source of the climate destabilisation and it is failing to chart a clear and credible pathway for transition.

Just last month, I attended the release of a groundbreaking report showing just how Western Australia can reduce its emissions and manage energy demands across major industries—a science based pathway to align WA with the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degrees target. But this wasn't commissioned by government. No, it came from Greenpeace and the environmental sector. The people are doing the work which our governments should be leading. Instead, both WA and federal Labor continue to pander to fossil fuel giants, ignoring the economic and environmental realities that are right before our eyes.

This is not a time for denial. It is a time for strategic, bold action, a time for a transition to a cleaner economy—one that is fairer for people and puts the planet first. For those who still believe that Australia is a negligible contributor to this problem, let me say this: Australia is one of the world's biggest gas exporters. Our per person greenhouse gas emissions are amongst the highest on planet Earth. Our fossil fuel exports have already pumped 30 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere since the 1960s, and we are on track to add another 15 billion over the next decade.

So no, Australia is not a small player. We are a major polluter, and the government's refusal to act isn't just an environmental failure. It is a moral failure. We need environmental laws that truly protect our environment, our native forests, our critical habitats and our climate because protecting our environment is protecting our future. (Time expired.)

Question agreed to.