The Government will introduce a new environmental bill to Parliament this week.
It says the bill will strengthen Australia’s environmental protections, while also “improving productivity” and “economic prosperity”.
The bill would establish a National Environment Protection Agency, and require large projects to report their carbon emissions.
Both the Greens and the Coalition have criticised the bill.
New bill
Australia’s current environment law is called the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC). It was passed during then-Prime Minister John Howard’s second term in 1999.
A 2020 review commissioned by then-Environment Minister Sussan Ley found it is ineffective and outdated. Since the review, successive governments have attempted to pass major reforms.
Current Environment Minister Murray Watt will this week propose a new bill to reform the EPBC to Parliament.
The Government is seeking to make approval processes for big projects more efficient and transparent.
It also wants to establish a National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA) to monitor gas and coal projects’ legal compliance.
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Companies could be fined up to $825 million if their projects fail to meet the new requirements.
The NEPA will also be involved in decisions to approve or deny new projects. Final decisions will be made by ministers in either the state or federal Government.
Currently, both levels of government need to approve a project. Watt told the ABC this will reduce the approvals process by “months or years”.
Watt has ruled out adding a ‘climate trigger’ to the bill. The Greens and independents have long called for this to be added to the approvals process. It would require consideration of a project’s emissions impact, not just its immediate environmental impact.
Response
On Sunday, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley proposed the bill be divided into two halves: one dedicated to project approvals, and a separate piece of legislation on the “broader, more contentious environmental elements” of the reforms.
Ley wrote on Instagram: “Labor’s new environment laws… risk being a gift to our overseas competitors, a handbrake on investment and a red light to jobs.”
The Government has rejected Ley’s proposal to split the bill.
Greens environment spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young also criticised the bill, telling the ABC: “These are meant to be environment protection laws, not business approval laws... We want to make sure these laws protect our forests and protect our climate.”
Business Council of Australia Bran Black welcomed the bill, saying: “If we’re serious about delivering the energy transition, increasing housing supply, technology infrastructure and unlocking growth sectors like critical minerals, then creating a faster and more efficient EPBC system is critical.”
