11th Nov 2015 – Senate Motions - Legal System - Stop environmental groups from challenging government decisions

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Liberal National Party Senator Matthew Canavan that asked for the Labor Party "to support legislative amendments to close legal loopholes being exploited by green groups".

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) the importance of a robust and clear legal system that allows for timely judicial review and certainty for investors and the community alike,

(ii) that the latest legal challenge brought by the Melbourne-based Australian Conservation Foundation to the development of the Galilee Basin is another cynical attempt to abuse due process,

(iii) that ongoing green law-fare is holding Queensland families to ransom, and jeopardising Australia's reputation as a place to do business, and

(iv) that rather than protecting the environment, the replacement of the Galilee Basin's lower-emission coal by higher-emission coal from other countries could instead cause an increase in global emissions; and

(b) calls on the Australian Labor Party to support legislative amendments to close legal loopholes being exploited by green groups.

Background to the motion

The "legislative amendments" mentioned in the motion refers to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standing) Bill 2015. That bill attempts to remove the right of groups involved in environmental protection, conservation or research to challenge government decisions made under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

If that bill is passed, then groups like the Australian Conservation Foundation wouldn't be able to challenge the legality of Government decisions like the one to approve the proposed Carmichael mine in the Galiliee Basin.

Note that the bill doesn't just stop "green groups" from bringing actions like these, but any group involved in environmental protection, conservation or research, which is why farming groups also oppose it (see the bills digest).