Latest news with #EPBCAct
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Labor makes ‘big but unsurprising decision' on extension of the North West Shelf project
Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell discusses the 'big but unsurprising decision' by Environment Minister Murray Watt to approve the extension of the North West Shelf gas project. 'The reason not to pare back the application until 2050 was because climate change didn't even come into what the approval came under – the EPBC Act,' he said. 'In other words, the minister only had to look at the effect of the project on Indigenous rock art, not on climate. The government wants to change the EPBC Act to make things clearer and more certain, in line with the Samuel Review. 'But what the government will not be doing, I am told, is going anywhere near the suggestion of the Greens in terms of putting in a climate trigger into the EPBC Act.'
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Labor to avoid climate trigger in EPBC Act as North West Shelf gas project gets green light to 2070
Sky News Sunday Agenda understands the Albanese government will not support Greens calls to include climate change in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. The Albanese government will not support the Greens' proposal to insert a climate trigger into national environment laws, according to sources. The position has come into focus following Environment Minister Murray Watt's decision to approve Woodside's North West Shelf gas project extension until 2070. Mr Watt confirmed the approval on Wednesday, allowing one of the country's largest LNG operations to continue well beyond the government's goal of net zero emissions by 2050. The decision was made without any consideration of the project's climate impact as the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act does not include this as a factor. Under the EPBC Act, the minister was only required to assess the project's impact on matters such as indigenous heritage, including Murujuga rock art on the site. Sky News Sunday Agenda understands that while the government will proceed with long-promised reforms to the EPBC Act, these will not include a climate trigger. The government will follow the advice of the 2021 Samuel Review into the EPBC Act—commissioned by former environment minister Sussan Ley. — Larissa Waters (@larissawaters) May 30, 2025 The Greens have publicly accused Labor of preparing to greenlight the North West Shelf project in secret and failing their first major climate test in government. Greens leader Larissa Waters said the party would 'be encouraging environment groups to take legal action against this approval' in a statement on Thursday. 'Approving fossil fuels out to 2070 totally undermines the government's commitment to net zero by 2050, which is already too late for a safe climate future,' she said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the role of gas in supporting the country's transition to renewables on Monday. 'You can't have renewables unless you have firming capacity. You don't change a transition through warm thoughts,' he told reporters at a press conference. 'You do it through a concrete proposal, which is the expansion of renewables up to 82 per cent of the grid, but the way that that occurs is it needs firming capacity to occur.' The story of this parliament increasingly appears to be that Labor can pass its agenda with solely Greens support—but so far appears unwilling to adopt any of their key demands.
Sky News AU
17-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Labor pursuing Environmental Protection Agency 'with teeth' as it seeks to find 'middle ground' between jobs and environment
Newly-appointed Environment Minister Murray Watt has argued in favour of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 'with teeth'. His comments come as the Albanese government prepares to overhaul the nation's environmental legislation. The EPA is expected to be given powers to impose stiff penalties on companies caught breaking environmental laws. 'We did go to the election, committing and recommitting, in fact, to having an independent EPA, and we need such a body with teeth,' Mr Watt told Sky News Sunday Agenda. 'But in terms of the details around the model of that, that is something that I'll be consulting on. 'I think it's a little premature for me to be making those kind of decisions before I've had an opportunity to meet with a range of interest groups on this.' Former environment minister Tanya Plibersek had negotiated the legislation in 2024 before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese scrapped the deal. The government then went into the federal election promising to establish the EPA once more. Mr Watt said the early contact he has made with business groups, mining groups and environments showed 'goodwill' on behalf of stakeholders. 'Our current environmental laws aren't working for the environment or the business community,' he said. 'The groups that I've been speaking with from across the spectrum agree with that. They agree that change needs to be made.' However, the opposition has strongly criticised the lack of detail in Labor's environmental reform agenda. In a statement issued on Saturday, shadow environment minister Jonno Duniam said Mr Watt 'needs to tell Australia exactly how he intends to reform the broken EPBC Act'. 'It's a bit rich for the new Environment Minister to demand that the Opposition support their laws without providing one skerrick of detail,' he said. 'No commitment on timeframes, no commitment on clamping down on vexatious third parties, no commitment on ensuring the EPA doesn't have final sign off on whether projects will be able to go ahead or not.' More to come.
The Guardian
27-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Labor's grassroots environmental group dismayed by rushed bill protecting salmon industry
Labor's grassroots environment action network has told its members it does not support legislation that Anthony Albanese rushed through parliament this week to protect salmon farming in Tasmania, describing it as 'frustrating and disappointing'. In an email on Thursday, the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) said it would not 'sugar coat' its reaction to a bill that was introduced to end a formal government reconsideration of whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour, on the state's west coast, in 2012 was properly approved. Albanese had promised the amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act to protect salmon industry laws in the remote town of Strahan after internal warnings the issue was damaging Labor's electoral chances in the Tasmanian seat of Braddon, a seat the Liberal party holds on an 8% margin. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email An environment department opinion released under freedom of information laws had suggested the reconsideration could lead to salmon farming having to stop in the harbour, while an environmental impact statement was prepared. Lean's national campaign organiser, Louise Crawford, told the group's members the passage of the bill with bipartisan support on Wednesday night was 'not an outcome we support'. 'It is one of those incredibly frustrating and disappointing moments as a Lean member,' she said in an email seen by Guardian Australia. 'We have all worked so hard on getting the commitment for an EPA [Environment Protection Agency] and environment law reform for such a long time when no other party was talking about it nor interested in it.' The reconsideration of the Macquarie Harbour decision had been triggered in 2023 by a legal request from three environmentally focused organisations to the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek. The request highlighted concern about the impact of salmon farming on the endangered Maugean skate, an ancient ray-like fish species found only in Macquarie Harbour. The new legislation prevents ministerial reconsideration requests in cases in which a federal environment assessment had not been required and the development had been operating for more than five years. It was welcomed by the Tasmanian Liberal government, the Australian Workers' Union and the West Coast Council that covers Strahan and surrounding areas. The government has dismissed conservationists' and environment lawyers' concerns that this meant it could be broadly applied beyond salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour, arguing it was 'a very specific amendment' to address a flaw in the EPBC Act and that 'existing laws apply to everything else, including all new proposals for coal, gas, and land clearing'. Crawford said Lean believed it was a 'tight set of criteria' that did not apply to most major projects, including coal and gas operations, or to most developments that involved significant land-clearing. But she said the advocacy group would have preferred a solution that allowed the salmon farming to continue while an assessment was carried out. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'We do not think activities should be immune from reconsideration if evidence shows they need to be given a federal environmental assessment,' she said. 'This underlines the importance of completing the full environmental reform process, and to having an independent regulator.' Crawford urged members to 'dig deep' and resolve to help Labor craft improved laws and an EPA in the next term of parliament 'despite what happened this week'. She asked them to campaign for a group of pro-nature Labor MPs who Lean has named 'climate and environment champs' – including Ged Kearney, Kate Thwaites, Josh Burns, Jerome Laxale, Sally Sitou, Alicia Payne and Josh Wilson – so that the environment 'has strong voices in caucus and the parliament'. She noted Albanese had committed to reforming environment laws and creating a federal EPA in the next term after shelving both commitments in this term. 'This is Labor policy so should be delivered no question. We will continue to work to deliver this. It's time. It's more than past time,' she said. The Maugean skate has been listed as endangered since 2004. Concern about its plight escalated last year when a government scientific committee said numbers in the wild were 'extremely low' and fish farming in the harbour was the main cause of a substantial reduction in dissolved oxygen levels – the main threat to the skate's survival. The committee said salmon farms in the harbour should be scaled back and recommended the species be considered critically endangered. A separate report by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies last month said surveys suggested the skate population was likely to have recovered to 2014 levels after crashing last decade. It stressed the need for continued monitoring. The government announced $3m in the budget to expand a Maugean skate captive breeding program.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Nonsense': Albo slams Greens over salmon
Greens and Labor are lunging at each other's throats over controversial amendments to the EPBC Act, which are designed to protect Tasmania's salmon industry and are expected to pass parliament today. Greens leader Adam Bandt raised the matter directly with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Question Time, claiming the government was 'gutting' environmental laws and driving an iconic species to 'extinction'. The amendments will end Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek's formal reconsideration of a 2012 approval for expanded fish farming in Macquarie Harbour. The Coalition is expected to back the amendments and Mr Bandt said Labor was 'following' Mr Dutton. 'What absolute nonsense from the member for Melbourne (Mr Bandt),' Mr Albanese said in reply. 'The leader of a political party that stopped climate action that last time we were in government.' Mr Albanese said his government had established effective climate change targets and a plan to achieve them. He then derided the Greens as job-destroying fantasists. 'They have never seen a job they don't want to destroy,' he said. He said the Greens had opposed the Marinus link project, which would finnel renewable energy between Tasmania and Victoria, and wind farms in Tasmania. 'Wherever there is a job, they are oppose to it,' he said. Mr Albanese said Labor would defends job and environmental sustainability. Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley asked Ms Plibersek whether she would retain the power to stop salmon farming after the next election. Ms Plibersek said the amendments would apply ' to a very small number of potential decisions'. The changes only encompass activities that are already underway or recurring, have been ongoing for five years before a reconsideration application is submitted, and are carried on under the supervision of state territory government and their environmental protection agencies. Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie has slammed the proposed changes. 'Mining companies have to clean up after themselves, but apparently the salmon companies, they get right off the hook,' she said. 'Mining companies have to abide by the environmental laws, but apparently no … free pass over here, the dirty stinking salmon over here, because the Labor Party, Liberal Party, think it will give them a better chance of winning those electoral seats in Bradden and Lyons.' Ms Plibersek was also pressed on whether she would declare her support or opposition for the North West Shelf resources project in WA. Mr Dutton has come out in favour of the mammoth project. Ms Plibersek said she would not comment on the issue and stressed prejudging or commenting on assessments before a decision had been made 'leads to court cases'. 'I can say, very clearly, that our broad approach will always be to follow the law and to follow the science,' she said.
