2 September 2024

The Prime Minister’s commentary today about the powers of the Government’s planned Environmental Protection Authority represents nothing more than an attempt to get a political win, and is a particularly poor attempt to distract attention from his Environment Minister’s disastrous decision to stop progress on the Regis Resources gold mine proposal in regional New South Wales.

The Coalition has proposed a very wide-ranging series of amendments to the Government’s three EPA-related Bills to better protect the environment and to make it easier to do business in Australia. That included a request that the Government honour its clear 2022 election promise that its EPA would serve purely as a data and compliance body, rather than unaccountably be handed a series of far-reaching powers – and we are glad that the Government has now agreed to that.

However, many other changes are needed to the Bills and, more importantly, to the Government’s approach to environmental policy more broadly. The introduction of an EPA – no matter the specific model – will not satisfactorily address or overcome the Albanese Government’s clear broken promise to introduce comprehensive new national environmental laws to Parliament before the end of 2023.

Shadow Environment Minister Jonno Duniam on the Government’s announcement:

“Anthony Albanese is trying to distract from his Environment Minister’s disastrous decision that blocked the Blayney gold mine.”

“The Prime Minister wanted to say something that he thought would appeal to WA voters, but his Government’s hapless and hopeless record on environmental law and policy speaks for itself.”

“The Environment Minister still hasn’t delivered updated national environmental laws, as was promised. All that is being proposed now is a new bureaucracy in the form of a Federal EPA to administer these broken laws.”

“We will continue to carefully consider all legislation that comes to the Parliament, including scrutinising how it will deliver on the need for more projects and jobs in Australia.”

“The Labor Government are anti-development, anti-mining and anti-jobs – and this is epitomised by their entire Nature Positive agenda.”