The Albanese Government’s new Environment Protection Agency will do nothing to prevent coal and gas expansions and is a cynical distraction from Labor’s reneging on a promised overhaul of Australia’s John Howard-era environment laws, community groups say.
The government’s EPA Bill, released today (May 29), reveals the new authority would only have limited compliance powers and would have no influence over project decision making.
The Bill also contains a worrying provision which would give proponents power to prevent the government “stopping the clock” on decisions in cases where insufficient information has been provided about a project's impacts on matters of national environmental significance (see Explanatory Memoranda, page 3).
Lock the Gate Alliance National Coordinator Carmel Flint said, “Australia’s environment laws are not fit for purpose, and the new EPA will be powerless to address the massive damage that greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel projects are inflicting.
“The Albanese Government has folded to the demands of the WA mining and gas sector, and is squandering an opportunity to finally bring Australia’s environment laws up to a modern standard that the community expects and was promised.
“The failure to act now means that it's business as usual for 59 coal and gas expansions that are currently being assessed under national environment laws - a law that sees 99% of projects approved.
“There’s also a really nasty sting in the tail of this Bill - it delivers a fast-track for damaging projects by allowing proponents a right of veto over whether the minister can stop the clock on decisions if more scientific information is needed.”
350.org Australia CEO Lucy Manne said, “Climate change is the single biggest threat to Australia’s environment, and to that of our allies in the Pacific, so it’s really appalling that the Albanese Government has walked away from the major environment reforms it promised.
“Voters will remember this broken promise at the next election. The Albanese Government’s reputation on climate and environment is in tatters.”
Australian Youth Climate Coalition spokesperson Grace Vegesana said, “Most of our members weren’t even born when Australia’s current environment laws were drafted.
“Ironically, it’s our generation that is going to have to clean up the mess that the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis already has in store for us.
“This EPA Bill is yet another distraction the Albanese Government is using to delay real action on climate change.”
ENDS