Our federal environment laws (called the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, or EPBC) were created in the 1990s when John Howard was prime minister. They were never designed to really protect land and water from development and thousands of destructive projects were approved under this legislation: since they took effect 20 years ago, more than seven million hectares of threatened species habitat has been destroyed.
Federal Labor came to the last election with a promise to fix our broken nature laws. Now they need to deliver. After years of delays, the federal ALP has now introduced new nature laws to Parliament. But they’re not good enough and will fail to protect nature.
It is essential that these weak laws not be passed.
They must be strengthened so they do protect the ecosystems that we love and rely on. To have the legislation adopted by parliament the government needs support from either The Greens or the Coalition. Fresh after their announcement that they will walk away from net zero commitments, it is very difficult to believe that any legislation signed by the Liberals and Nationals will be good for protecting nature.
It is essential that the federal ALP work with The Greens to strengthen and deliver the proposed laws.
Parliament will debate on Labor’s proposed nature laws in the coming weeks so please take action now.
Dear Minister Watt,
Australia needs strong climate laws
Australia is in the grip of an extinction crisis, and your government has the power to turn this around. We desperately need strong new nature laws that protect nature and provide a thriving future for threatened species like the koala and greater gliders.
However, the long-anticipated changes to nature laws introduced by the Albanese government look set to weaken nature protections, unless critical amendments are made.
We welcome aspects of your bill which include potential advancements, such as a National EPA and stronger penalties.
The Australian people understand the need for the federal government to halt the extinction crisis. In amending the draft legislation we want to see:
- strong rules for nature protection
- an independent Environment Protection Agency (EPA). We appreciate your commitment to establish an EPA – but it must be tasked with decision making rather than allowing future ministers to make decisions that could undermine nature protection
- rules that close deforestation loopholes
- rules that factor climate harm into all decisions on major projects
The Albanese Government’s second term is your chance to deliver strong laws for people and nature that all Australians can be proud of. This new legislation will set the direction for our country for decades to come: it is essential that these laws protect nature, not facilitate destructive projects.
Good nature laws can supercharge clean energy and help ensure that the energy transition happens without damage to wild and special ecosystems. With strong protections in place, we can roll out renewables faster, in the right places, and in the right way.
I urge you to do everything in your power to make sure people and nature can thrive. This means working with The Greens to secure stronger environment laws. We fear that any deal with the Liberal National Coalition will result in weaker environment laws.