Coalition demands on environment law would be a “disaster” for Australia’s biodiversity

The Biodiversity Council has warned that Coalition demands for major changes to the government’s environment law reforms would severely weaken protections for Australia’s wildlife and landscapes, at a time when environmental decline is accelerating.

The Coalition has signalled it will support the passage of the new EPBC reforms only if the government agrees to a suite of amendments that would weaken or remove the unacceptable impacts test from the proposed bills.

It also seeks to weaken the net gain test and reduce proposed penalties for breaches of national law whilst increasing Ministerial discretionary powers.

Biodiversity Council CEO James Trezise said the proposed changes would “lock in the very failures the reforms were supposed to fix.”

“These amendments would be a disaster for Australia’s biodiversity”

“They would remove any skerrick of protection contained within the Government’s bills and simply fast-track the destruction of nature.

“We need laws that set clear limits to loss, including unacceptable impacts, and that embed clear net-gain objectives.

“As it stands, the Government’s proposed legislation is too weak and full of loopholes. It needs major strengthening through the negotiation in the Senate.

“We need laws that protect the places, plants and animals that make this country unique.

“Australia is a global biodiversity hotspot - most of our wildlife occurs nowhere else in the world, which is why it’s so important we get this right.”