Australia is set to pass historic reforms to the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act following a deal between the Albanese government and the Greens party.
The Bill will provide a balanced set of reforms that protect the environment and also speed up decision-making for projects in key areas of national priority like housing, renewable energy and critical minerals.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the reforms are crucial to the government’s Future Made in Australia agenda.
“Getting these laws passed is vital to protect our environment and to boost productivity in our economy.
“These reforms will help us meet our national priorities of building more homes, rolling out more renewables and accessing more critical minerals.”
What’s included in the amended Bill
The reforms draw on the 2020 Samuel Review, which recommended sweeping changes to support ecologically sustainable development into the future.
The centrepiece for the reforms is the establishment of a National Environment Protection Agency, an independent regulator with a focus on ensuring better compliance with and stronger enforcement of Australia’s new environmental laws.
The reforms will also enact the first-ever national standards to safeguard nature, including an unacceptable impacts rule to prevent major environmental damage.
The Bill also has key measures to speed up decision-making for business including a new streamlined assessment pathway to reduce the timeframe for proponents who provide sufficient information upfront.
There are also new and improved bilateral agreements with states to remove the duplication for assessment and approval of projects.
Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt said: “These reforms will deliver tangible benefits for the environment and protect what is precious.
“But these reforms will also be a power surge of productivity for our economy, cutting approval times for key projects and injecting up to $7 billion into the economy.”
Reactions mixed
The Minerals Council of Australia said the deal was an “inferior and disappointing outcome” that fails to find the right balance between protecting the environment and promoting a stronger Australian mining sector.
MCA CEO Tania Constable said the Bill did not include amendments which would have allowed the mining industry to deliver faster investment, jobs and regional benefits.
“The government’s deal with the Greens will increase red tape by requiring mining operations to make climate disclosures under the EPBC Act despite this already being a clear legal requirement under the Safeguard Mechanism, which could open new avenues for legal challenge,” Constable said.
The Business Council of Australia said the EPBC reform bill is a missed opportunity to deliver long-lasting reforms that would unlock investment.
BCA CEO Bran Black said: “We have long supported the right reforms to the EPBC Act to deliver better outcomes for both environmental protection and business, but our concern with this package, as it stands, is that there’s lots more work to do to deliver a net benefit for business and the economy.”
The BCA is concerned that the amendments create new barriers against energy transition, including the exclusion of gas projects from streamlined pathways and regional planning and preventing water-trigger projects from single-desk approvals.
The renewables lobby, the Clean Energy Council, heralded the reforms as much-needed progress towards protecting the environment.
Jackie Trad, Clean Energy Council CEO, said: “Our sector exists because of the need to protect our environment, and not in spite of it. We look forward to working in a more streamlined way in delivering the clean energy rollout in the national interest.”