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The Advertiser
22-07-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Every month we waste has a cost. The time is now to protect what is uniquely Australian
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will soon mark the first 100 days of his renewed mandate. The first hundred days of any government offer a glimpse of what the next three years may hold. They signal what matters. The Prime Minister personally committed to creating strong, new nature laws early in his term - a moment of hope. Australians want to protect the nature and wildlife that make our country special - animals like the platypus that have to be seen to be believed, and places like the Great Barrier Reef that exist nowhere else on earth. So many of us, including the prime minister, grew up with nature. We owe it to our kids to make sure they can see a koala in the wild or swim among coral reefs. Seven in 10 Australians say the federal government must do more to protect and restore nature; 86 per cent back stronger federal nature laws; and 96 per cent fear further extinctions without urgent reform. Labor has the authority - and responsibility - to act. With a strong majority and a fresh mandate, the government can deliver what voters have long called for: credible laws that actually protect nature. After 25 years in operation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) has failed to stem broad-scale deforestation or halt wildlife decline. Many species are now in even greater danger. Stronger protections would prove Labor's climate-and-nature promise is real. Graeme Samuel's independent review of the EPBC Act has already supplied the blueprint: binding National Environmental Standards; an independent, well-resourced regulator to enforce them without fear or favour, and up-to-date environmental data to support clearer, faster decisions. It's time to close loopholes that allow native forest logging and broadscale land clearing - and to bring climate squarely into our nature laws. Time matters. In the 25 years of our existing laws, a staggering 7.7 million hectares of threatened species habitat have been destroyed - that's the size of Tasmania. In the five years since the Samuel Review, koalas have been declared endangered in NSW. In the past year, Ningaloo and the Great Barrier Reef have bleached, and South Australia's marine life is dying from climate-fuelled ocean heatwaves. Drafting instructions are on the shelf. The election is behind us. The parliamentary setting is favourable. Political will is what remains. Passing the full Nature Laws package would give communities confidence that unique ecosystems aren't bargaining chips. Clear, modern rules would also give businesses certainty. Every month of drift has a cost: more habitat lost, more projects stalled, more investment on hold. Delay is expensive. MORE OPINION: But decisive reform pays off. Strong, consistent standards reduce duplication, shorten approval times for projects that meet the bar, and give communities confidence that fragile ecosystems are protected. Our three organisations-the Australian Conservation Foundation, Greenpeace Australia Pacific and WWF-Australia- know the country is ready for effective and enforceable nature laws. Together, we represent millions of Australians who want this continent's unique wildlife to thrive alongside a regenerative economy. The choice is clear, the opportunity is real, and the reward belongs to every Australian who values living landscapes and a safe climate. The window to deliver is still open. Miss it, and we inherit a legacy of stalled progress and rising extinctions. Seize it, and we unlock investment, protect nature, and set Australia on a path to a thriving, low-carbon future. The blueprint is ready. The public is watching. The cost of inaction grows daily. Pass the laws. Set the standards. Let this hundred-day mark stand for progress, not pause. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will soon mark the first 100 days of his renewed mandate. The first hundred days of any government offer a glimpse of what the next three years may hold. They signal what matters. The Prime Minister personally committed to creating strong, new nature laws early in his term - a moment of hope. Australians want to protect the nature and wildlife that make our country special - animals like the platypus that have to be seen to be believed, and places like the Great Barrier Reef that exist nowhere else on earth. So many of us, including the prime minister, grew up with nature. We owe it to our kids to make sure they can see a koala in the wild or swim among coral reefs. Seven in 10 Australians say the federal government must do more to protect and restore nature; 86 per cent back stronger federal nature laws; and 96 per cent fear further extinctions without urgent reform. Labor has the authority - and responsibility - to act. With a strong majority and a fresh mandate, the government can deliver what voters have long called for: credible laws that actually protect nature. After 25 years in operation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) has failed to stem broad-scale deforestation or halt wildlife decline. Many species are now in even greater danger. Stronger protections would prove Labor's climate-and-nature promise is real. Graeme Samuel's independent review of the EPBC Act has already supplied the blueprint: binding National Environmental Standards; an independent, well-resourced regulator to enforce them without fear or favour, and up-to-date environmental data to support clearer, faster decisions. It's time to close loopholes that allow native forest logging and broadscale land clearing - and to bring climate squarely into our nature laws. Time matters. In the 25 years of our existing laws, a staggering 7.7 million hectares of threatened species habitat have been destroyed - that's the size of Tasmania. In the five years since the Samuel Review, koalas have been declared endangered in NSW. In the past year, Ningaloo and the Great Barrier Reef have bleached, and South Australia's marine life is dying from climate-fuelled ocean heatwaves. Drafting instructions are on the shelf. The election is behind us. The parliamentary setting is favourable. Political will is what remains. Passing the full Nature Laws package would give communities confidence that unique ecosystems aren't bargaining chips. Clear, modern rules would also give businesses certainty. Every month of drift has a cost: more habitat lost, more projects stalled, more investment on hold. Delay is expensive. MORE OPINION: But decisive reform pays off. Strong, consistent standards reduce duplication, shorten approval times for projects that meet the bar, and give communities confidence that fragile ecosystems are protected. Our three organisations-the Australian Conservation Foundation, Greenpeace Australia Pacific and WWF-Australia- know the country is ready for effective and enforceable nature laws. Together, we represent millions of Australians who want this continent's unique wildlife to thrive alongside a regenerative economy. The choice is clear, the opportunity is real, and the reward belongs to every Australian who values living landscapes and a safe climate. The window to deliver is still open. Miss it, and we inherit a legacy of stalled progress and rising extinctions. Seize it, and we unlock investment, protect nature, and set Australia on a path to a thriving, low-carbon future. The blueprint is ready. The public is watching. The cost of inaction grows daily. Pass the laws. Set the standards. Let this hundred-day mark stand for progress, not pause. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will soon mark the first 100 days of his renewed mandate. The first hundred days of any government offer a glimpse of what the next three years may hold. They signal what matters. The Prime Minister personally committed to creating strong, new nature laws early in his term - a moment of hope. Australians want to protect the nature and wildlife that make our country special - animals like the platypus that have to be seen to be believed, and places like the Great Barrier Reef that exist nowhere else on earth. So many of us, including the prime minister, grew up with nature. We owe it to our kids to make sure they can see a koala in the wild or swim among coral reefs. Seven in 10 Australians say the federal government must do more to protect and restore nature; 86 per cent back stronger federal nature laws; and 96 per cent fear further extinctions without urgent reform. Labor has the authority - and responsibility - to act. With a strong majority and a fresh mandate, the government can deliver what voters have long called for: credible laws that actually protect nature. After 25 years in operation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) has failed to stem broad-scale deforestation or halt wildlife decline. Many species are now in even greater danger. Stronger protections would prove Labor's climate-and-nature promise is real. Graeme Samuel's independent review of the EPBC Act has already supplied the blueprint: binding National Environmental Standards; an independent, well-resourced regulator to enforce them without fear or favour, and up-to-date environmental data to support clearer, faster decisions. It's time to close loopholes that allow native forest logging and broadscale land clearing - and to bring climate squarely into our nature laws. Time matters. In the 25 years of our existing laws, a staggering 7.7 million hectares of threatened species habitat have been destroyed - that's the size of Tasmania. In the five years since the Samuel Review, koalas have been declared endangered in NSW. In the past year, Ningaloo and the Great Barrier Reef have bleached, and South Australia's marine life is dying from climate-fuelled ocean heatwaves. Drafting instructions are on the shelf. The election is behind us. The parliamentary setting is favourable. Political will is what remains. Passing the full Nature Laws package would give communities confidence that unique ecosystems aren't bargaining chips. Clear, modern rules would also give businesses certainty. Every month of drift has a cost: more habitat lost, more projects stalled, more investment on hold. Delay is expensive. MORE OPINION: But decisive reform pays off. Strong, consistent standards reduce duplication, shorten approval times for projects that meet the bar, and give communities confidence that fragile ecosystems are protected. Our three organisations-the Australian Conservation Foundation, Greenpeace Australia Pacific and WWF-Australia- know the country is ready for effective and enforceable nature laws. Together, we represent millions of Australians who want this continent's unique wildlife to thrive alongside a regenerative economy. The choice is clear, the opportunity is real, and the reward belongs to every Australian who values living landscapes and a safe climate. The window to deliver is still open. Miss it, and we inherit a legacy of stalled progress and rising extinctions. Seize it, and we unlock investment, protect nature, and set Australia on a path to a thriving, low-carbon future. The blueprint is ready. The public is watching. The cost of inaction grows daily. Pass the laws. Set the standards. Let this hundred-day mark stand for progress, not pause. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will soon mark the first 100 days of his renewed mandate. The first hundred days of any government offer a glimpse of what the next three years may hold. They signal what matters. The Prime Minister personally committed to creating strong, new nature laws early in his term - a moment of hope. Australians want to protect the nature and wildlife that make our country special - animals like the platypus that have to be seen to be believed, and places like the Great Barrier Reef that exist nowhere else on earth. So many of us, including the prime minister, grew up with nature. We owe it to our kids to make sure they can see a koala in the wild or swim among coral reefs. Seven in 10 Australians say the federal government must do more to protect and restore nature; 86 per cent back stronger federal nature laws; and 96 per cent fear further extinctions without urgent reform. Labor has the authority - and responsibility - to act. With a strong majority and a fresh mandate, the government can deliver what voters have long called for: credible laws that actually protect nature. After 25 years in operation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) has failed to stem broad-scale deforestation or halt wildlife decline. Many species are now in even greater danger. Stronger protections would prove Labor's climate-and-nature promise is real. Graeme Samuel's independent review of the EPBC Act has already supplied the blueprint: binding National Environmental Standards; an independent, well-resourced regulator to enforce them without fear or favour, and up-to-date environmental data to support clearer, faster decisions. It's time to close loopholes that allow native forest logging and broadscale land clearing - and to bring climate squarely into our nature laws. Time matters. In the 25 years of our existing laws, a staggering 7.7 million hectares of threatened species habitat have been destroyed - that's the size of Tasmania. In the five years since the Samuel Review, koalas have been declared endangered in NSW. In the past year, Ningaloo and the Great Barrier Reef have bleached, and South Australia's marine life is dying from climate-fuelled ocean heatwaves. Drafting instructions are on the shelf. The election is behind us. The parliamentary setting is favourable. Political will is what remains. Passing the full Nature Laws package would give communities confidence that unique ecosystems aren't bargaining chips. Clear, modern rules would also give businesses certainty. Every month of drift has a cost: more habitat lost, more projects stalled, more investment on hold. Delay is expensive. MORE OPINION: But decisive reform pays off. Strong, consistent standards reduce duplication, shorten approval times for projects that meet the bar, and give communities confidence that fragile ecosystems are protected. Our three organisations-the Australian Conservation Foundation, Greenpeace Australia Pacific and WWF-Australia- know the country is ready for effective and enforceable nature laws. Together, we represent millions of Australians who want this continent's unique wildlife to thrive alongside a regenerative economy. The choice is clear, the opportunity is real, and the reward belongs to every Australian who values living landscapes and a safe climate. The window to deliver is still open. Miss it, and we inherit a legacy of stalled progress and rising extinctions. Seize it, and we unlock investment, protect nature, and set Australia on a path to a thriving, low-carbon future. The blueprint is ready. The public is watching. The cost of inaction grows daily. Pass the laws. Set the standards. Let this hundred-day mark stand for progress, not pause.
West Australian
21-07-2025
- General
- West Australian
Environmentalists opposing Katanning Gold Project ready as public comments open
The environmental group opposing the proposed Katanning gold mine is preparing it submission as public comments open thorugh the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act public portal. The No Mine in Katanning environmentalists said they are studying documents presented by developers Ausgold for the Katanning Gold Project and would have their objections submitted by the time public comments close on the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation website on July 25. The EPBC public portal opened for comments on July 11 and anyone with an opinion has until July 25 to submit their thoughts on the Ausgold plan. The mine is proposed for Badgebup, 30km outside Katanning, and the developers say it could employ up to 350 people. However, the No Mine in Katanning group say they are gathering support from people worried about how it will affect endangered wildlife in the area including Carnaby's black cockatoos and red-tailed phasogales. Documents on the EPBC portal include a fauna survey and risk assessment report by Perth-based environmental consultancy Terrestrial Ecosystems. It put cameras in several locations to record wildlife and found evidence of black cockatoos and phasogales as well as the inland form of the western rosella and western grey kangaroos. It recommended that if there was a referral under the EPBC Act, Ausgold should implement a Vertebrate Fauna Management and Mitigation Plan to outline strategies to minimise the impact on the wildlife and its habitat. A spokesperson for No Mine in Katanning said the mine would severely impact wildlife in the area. 'It is highly likely to have a devastating effect on the natural activities of Carnaby's, red-tailed phascogales and other wildlife,' the spokesperson said. 'Stands of remnant native vegetation within and close to the mine's footprint are Katanning's prime breeding area for endangered Carnaby's black cockatoos. 'They need quiet places to raise their young but this mine, with its 24-7 noise, dust and light pollution, would certainly frighten them away. 'Loss of breeding and food source habitat is the main reason these iconic birds have become endangered, but governments are continuing to allow mining and other developments to destroy crucial habitat.'
ABC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Business look for certainty on environmental protection law
Executive Director of Pollination, which advises businesses how to mitigate risks to the environment, Laura Waterford says businesses want to know what the playing field is going to be over the next few decades as they anticipate Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act reforms.
The Guardian
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ken Henry says Australia's environmental laws are 'broken' and should be rewritten
Using a speech to the National Press Club as a rallying cry to federal parliament to finally agree on a rewrite of the quarter-century old Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, Ken Henry, now the chair of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation, said that Australia's environmental protection laws are 'broken' and should be reformed. 'We have had all the reviews we need,' Henry said. 'All of us have had our say. It is now up to parliament. Let's just get this done'
Sydney Morning Herald
15-07-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
If Albanese can't pass this test, ‘we should stop dreaming': former Treasury boss
Anthony Albanese's plan to build 1.2 million homes, improve the nation's transport system and lift Australians' living standards will fail if the government cannot fix broken nature laws and arrest the decline of the environment, former Treasury boss Ken Henry warns. In a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Henry will argue that despite pressure on fast-track important developments, the country also needs a resilient and rich natural environment. Without that, Australia will be just 'building a faster highway to hell'. Henry, who served as Treasury secretary under John Howard and Kevin Rudd, will argue there is 'no chance' the government will reach its many key policy goals without fixing the broken project approval system in the federal Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act and also state environmental laws. 'If we can't achieve environmental law reform, then we should stop dreaming about more challenging options,' he will tell the press club. 'Boosting productivity and resilience relies upon environmental law reform.' The 2020 Samuel Review found the EPBC Act, established by the Howard government in 2000, was failing. The regime overlays state nature laws to protect matters of national environmental significance, like threatened species or rare habitats. Loading Since colonisation, about 100 of Australia's unique flora and fauna species have become extinct. The rate of loss, which is as bad as anywhere else on Earth, shows no sign of slowing, with more than 2000 species listed as threatened with extinction and ongoing habitat degradation. The Albanese government promised in 2022 to bolster the EPBC Act with the creation of an Environment Protection Agency (EPA). A federal watchdog, the agency would police compliance of big projects that affect the environment, such as mines and tourism resorts, handing out fines for breaches.
