The Australian Conservation Foundation has welcomed Environment Minister Murray Watt’s restarting of the long-overdue reform of Australia’s broken national nature laws.
ACF’s CEO Kelly O’Shanassy joined a roundtable hosted by Minister Watt in Canberra today.
“Nature protects us all by providing clean air and water, beautiful landscapes, good food and the materials we need to live, but the national environment law is not working, leaving Australian wildlife under extreme pressure,” Ms O’Shanassy said.
“The Albanese government’s 2022 election promise to thoroughly reform the law remains unfulfilled. It’s encouraging to see Minister Watt getting on with the job.
“The single most critical reforms are making national environments standards that set the rules to protect nature, an EPA to enforce them and making sure climate impacts on nature is considered in decision-making.”
ACF is looking for the reformed law to:
- Set clear, strong standards for nature protection.
- Introduce an EPA for independent, accountable and expertise-based decision making.
- Fix ongoing and systemic compliance and enforcement failures.
- Improve data quality to inform decisions and track progress against goals.
- Introduce a ‘quick no’ for proposals that would have unacceptable impacts on nature.
- Close loopholes to make sure laws apply comprehensively.
- Address climate harm in all decisions under the national nature law.
- Strengthen First Nations participation and recognition.
- Replace the Conservation Advice and Recovery Plan regime with a more effective system.
“For the sake of Australia’s unique animals and plants, there can be no more delays or carving out industries. It’s time for the Albanese government to fix Australia’s nature laws in the first year of the new parliament.
“ACF looks forward to working with Minister Watt on this critical task.”