When federal Labor came to power after almost a decade in opposition, the new  Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek pledged to halt the decline of the Australian environment. A core commitment revolved around reforming and rebuilding the flawed and inadequate national environmental protection laws, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (the EPBC).

But the promised reform process around the national environment laws – which should be framed to protect biodiversity - has become bogged down in political processes. The fossil fuel industry has done its best to slow the process.

In the latest example of inaction, proposed laws to create an independent environmental regulator, Environmental Protection Australia (EPA), appear stalled in the Senate. Labor needs the backing of the Coalition or the Greens to push the reform through.

This is a real problem. A stream of audits and reviews have shown Australia’s environmental laws – which were originally established under conservative PM John Howard, and never provided adequate protection for the environment - are simply not fit for purpose. Change is necessary.

The Greens, Senator David Pockock and Senator Lidia Thorpe have all stated that they are willing to work with Labor to pass strong EPA legislation. The government must introduce measures to stop forest destruction through logging, reduce climate change impacts and ensure First Nations' voices are included in decision-making. 

Please contact the Minister urging her to work with the Greens and crossbench to pass strong EPA laws, with new measures to stop forest destruction and climate harm.