Nature laws are back on the agenda, but Prime Minister Albanese is looking out for industry not nature and the endangered Maugean skate is directly in the firing line.
With the upcoming election, we didn’t expect to see nature laws back on the table anytime soon with another parliamentary sitting not expected until after the election. Thanks to Cyclone Alfred, the Prime Minister did not call an election for mid-April as many were expecting, which means that our politicians will now be off to Canberra in late March for the budget sittings.
While most attention will be on the pre-election budget, changes to nature protection laws are also on the agenda. But they aren’t the changes we want. Last month the PM promised the Tasmanian salmon industry that next time Parliament met he would introduce laws to protect salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour.
Before we get into what this means for nature, let’s recap on how we got here.
Timeline: how did our nature laws get to where they are today?
Last election (2022): Prime Minister Albanese’s promises to deliver a new national environmental regulator in the form of a national EPA, and to fix our national nature protection law, the EPBC Act, after an independent review conducted by Professor Graeme Samuel found the EPBC Act to be unfit for purpose and in need of fundamental reform.
December 2022: Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek announces details of the Albanese government’s commitment to nature law reforms which we broadly welcomed. We also welcomed the commitment to get the new laws into Parliament within a year.
End of 2023 to mid 2024: Delays and changes to plans mean that the laws are not introduced by the end of 2023 as promised, and by mid 2024 the government has moved to a staged approach with the first round of the Nature Positive Bills introduced into Parliament in May.
November 2024: The PM caves to pressure from mining companies and the Western Australian government, blocking a deal that would have seen the Bills passed with some sensible additions to create a framework for the new National Environmental Standards.
February 2025: The next sittings of Parliament come around and hopes are raised again that the laws might be passed. However, the PM intervenes again, effectively saying the government was not willing to negotiate to get the laws passed and scratching the legislation from the Parliamentary program.
Today (March 2025): Now the PM - in lockstep it seems with Peter Dutton’s opposition - is likely shaping up to change our nature laws to provide some sort of exemption or loophole for Salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour in Tasmania. So not only are we not seeing any action taken to protect nature, we are seeing the PM take an action that will harm nature.
The Maugean Skate is threatened with extinction. Image: Neville Barrett
What has the Prime Minister promised the salmon farming industry?
We don’t know the details on exactly what new laws the Prime Minister has promised the Tasmanian salmon industry, but we can be sure that the prospect of the PM and Peter Dutton teaming up to create a special industry carve out from national nature protection laws is taking things in the wrong direction. Species like the Maugean Skate are threatened with extinction by the Salmon farms in Macquarie Harbour and need stronger protection, not further pressure from loopholes and carve outs to protect polluting fish farms.
The Prime Minister’s promised intervention is problematic on two levels:
- It will drive the Maugean Skate closer to extinction. Even with some recent hopeful signs of improvement, this ancient fish remains on the brink of extinction and will remain there unless action is taken to tackle the pollution affecting its home in Macquarie Harbour. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has the opportunity to address the problem but has delayed and delayed. She needs to use the powers she has to protect the skate.
- Our laws need fixing, not special fixes to appease corporate interests like Tasmania’s salmon industry. Loopholes and special carve outs for specific businesses and industries under laws that are supposed to protect nature make no sense.
Threatened species need stronger protection, not carve outs for harmful industries which will only propel them further toward extinction.
It is almost as if the Prime Minister is determined to deliver a worse outcome for nature every time Parliament meets.
Our government needs to do better. Review after review has recommended fixing our failing national nature protection laws but nothing gets done. As a federal election looms, we need a Parliament committed to nature protection and ready to respond to Australia’s extinction crisis.
What can you do?
- Speak up to save the skate! We must tell the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader to stop selling out Australian wildlife. Forward this letter to Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton demanding strong nature laws and no special deals for big polluters.
- At this upcoming federal election, we need to make our demands of the next parliament clear. We want strong new environment laws, now. Your vote has impact, and together we can protect all threatened species like the Maugean skate before it’s too late. Pledge your vote to climate and nature.
