From environmentalists to government: Do your job

• The Albanese government is seeking out a pathway through the Senate for its EPA bill

• Conservationists have uniformly called on the government to strengthen the bill

• Prime Minister Albanese raised the possibility of watering down the reforms to appease segments of the mining sector and secure coalition support, a move decried by environmental organisations.

The Wilderness Society expresses disappointment with the Albanese government’s continuing delays in enacting its commitments to establish an independent Environment Protection Agency and strengthen Australia’s ailing federal nature law.

This morning, Prime Minister Albanese stated his government was considering “whether the new EPA would be compliance-only.” This would be a retreat from what was set out in the government's own bill, already passed by the House of Representatives, which allows for the EPA to be delegated the authority to act as the primary decision-maker on new development proposals.

Such a walkback would fail to address the crisis of public mistrust in environmental decision-making, highlighted by Professor Graham Samuel in his 2020 Independent Review of the federal environment law, and would further dilute what was already a compromised bill.

Sam Szoke-Burke, Biodiversity Policy and Campaign Manager said, “The community is impatient for meaningful reforms to protect Australia’s iconic and unique environment. We call on the Albanese government to honour its commitments by negotiating with those parliamentarians actually invested in achieving good environmental outcomes.

Negotiations must prioritise what the community demands and nature needs, rather than the ultimatums of corporations that profit from environmental destruction. Australia’s world-class wildlife and landscapes deserve laws that stop deforestation and an EPA that is truly independent and accountable to communities.”

For further comment from Sam Szoke-Burke
please contact Troy Beer on [email protected] or 0419 992 760