Ensuring our national environment laws and institutions are fit for 21st century challenges
Across nearly every indicator, Australia's environment is struggling. Our national environment laws and institutions do not protect the environment. Thankfully our Labor Federal Government is now working on reforming them
The Albanese Labor Government came to office in 2022 with a pledge to reform the nation’s environment laws and to create two new independent environmental institutions: a federal environmental regulator and a federal environmental data agency. In May 2024, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek introduced to parliament bills to create an independent Environment Protection Australia and an independent Environment Information Australia, along with amendments to the existing Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) (1999).
LEAN members worked hard for this outcome, getting over 500 local branches to pass motions to include it in the national platform.
LEAN urges the Government to accelerate the delivery of its commitment to reform the full suite of environmental laws. Good institutions can only do so much with flawed laws. Laws designed around the delivery of Nature Positive outcomes, rules-based decision making, and Commonwealth responsibility for matters of national environmental significance, accompanied by adequate funding, have the potential to halt and reverse the biodiversity crisis.
Whats Needed
LEAN supports the Government’s commitment to reform Australia’s national environment laws, and would like to see laws based on the following principles:
- Nature positive is central to all actions and processes in the new laws - not just in new project approvals but also in positive conservation planning and restoration to repair past damage;
- All decision-making - whether by ministers, public servants or private actors - must be subject to clear rules, including on consultation and the involvement of scientific expertise;
- The Commonwealth must exercise its full powers to protect Matters of National Environmental Significance, even in the absence of state or territory cooperation.
The Proposed Institutions
Environment Protection Australia (EPA) will deliver much needed dedicated and independent regulation, compliance and enforcement. When the full reforms are delivered, it will provide expert, independent environmental assessments at arms’ length from the Government. In the meantime it will provide much needed compliance and enforcement and independent, expert advice to support the Minister in her decision making.
Environment Information Australia (EIA) is at least as important: good environmental decisions must be underpinned by good information. Importantly, the draft legislation enables Environment Information Australia to declare National Environmental Information Assets, which will enable the creation of national environmental databases to underpin the baselines against which environmental performance can be measured. The Government has committed to ‘Nature Positive’: to leave the natural environment in a better state than it found it. Good information is essential to this task.
