3rd Jul 2024, 1:00 PM – Representatives Nature Positive (Environment Protection Australia) Bill 2024 and two others - Second Reading - Criticism of bills

The majority voted against an amendment introduced by Ryan MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Greens) to an original amendment introduced by Fairfax MP Ted O'Brien (Liberal), which means it failed.

Amendment text

That all words after “House” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

(1) notes that the Government has broken its commitment to create laws that protect nature;

(2) notes that these three bills will not protect wildlife, will not stop native forest logging and will not stop the continued expansion of coal and gas;

(3) calls on the Government to amend this legislation to:

(a) end native forest logging and the destruction of critical habitat;

(b) assess projects properly for their climate impacts to stop the expansion of further fossil fuels; and

(c) commit to a timeframe for an exposure draft of standalone cultural heritage legislation”.

Original amendment

That all words after “That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

“the House:

(1) expresses its commitment to making changes to national environmental laws that are genuinely beneficial for both the environment and business;

(2) notes that these three bills do not meaningfully improve Australia’s environmental laws, and that they have particular shortcomings in each of the following forms :

(a) the expansion of the EPA’s proposed remit well beyond the compliance and data functions promised by the ALP in 2022;

(b) the excessive size, and lack of proportionality, of the new penalties;

(c) the requirement for more regular, earlier reviews of the operation of the EPA than is mandated in this bill;

(d) the need for clearer limits on the range of circumstances in which environment protection orders can be applied;

(e) the lack of accompanying information about the full regulatory and financial impacts of the bill, including on cost recovery; and

(3) calls on the Government to finally honour their long-flagged promise to introduce a full package of new National Environmental Standards and an overhauled EPBC Act”.