Experts slam industry carve out from environmental law being rushed through parliament

The Prime Minister will this week introduce amendments to Australia’s national environmental law through the Australian parliament with the support of the opposition.

The amendments would fulfil a commitment the Prime Minister made to the salmon industry during a visit to Tasmania, where the expansion of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour has driven the decline of an Endangered fish, the Maugean skate.

The Biodiversity Council says that the amendments would not only apply to the salmon industry and risk tearing another hole in Australia’s green safety net - the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

Biodiversity Council member and Professor of Environmental Law Jan McDonald from the University of Tasmania said,

“The Australian Government’s bill aimed at protecting Macquarie Harbour’s salmon industry jeopardizes a crucial safeguard in our national environmental legislation.

“It removes a power the Environment Minister has to review past determinations that an activity could proceed without needing Commonwealth approval. The Act currently allows for review of this determination if evidence comes to light showing the activity is causing signficant harm.

“In 2012, Environment Minister Tony Burke determined that expanding salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour could proceed without Commonwealth approval as it would not harm matters of national environmental significance such as threatened species and the adjoining World Heritage Area, provided it was undertaken in a ‘particular manner.’

“Since that time monitoring has shown that the salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour is significantly harming the endangered skate.

“Last year, the Environment Minister Tanya Plivbersek agreed to review the 2012 determination that salmon farms would not have a significant impact, based on evidence from multiple groups.

“The environment minister has deferred her review of the decision that this industry can operate without approval or regulation until after the election.

“If the minister agrees that Macquarie Harbour salmon farming requires approval to continue, it would likely be approved, but with a tightening of environmental controls.

“This is because 98% of Commonwealth environmental approval applications are approved. Those applications are still important as they present an opportunity to set conditions to minimise environmental harm.

“But. the operation would be unlawful until that approval is granted, and that takes time.

“To avoid this period of potential illegality, the amendments being introduced to parliament on Tuesday will remove the Minister’s ability to review the 2012 decision regardless of evidence. They will limit review powers to activities that have been conducted for less than five years, however dire the evidence of decline.

“Worse, the bill backdates this change to remove the Minister’s power to consider any previous particular manner determination older than five years, not just for salmon farming but across the board, removing an essential safeguard.

“At the start of this term of government, the Albanese Government promised to implement a suite of reforms that were recommended by the Graham Samuel Review in 2020 to strengthen our environmental laws.

“None of those reforms were delivered over past three years and now we see a weakening of the legislation rushed through in days.”

Biodiversity Council member Stan Lui is a Torres Strait Islander from Erub and has held senior roles within state and Commonwealth Fisheries Management and Aquaculture Development programs.

“The crisis facing the Maugean skate is not just an environmental failure; it is a failure of governance, accountability, and respect for the living systems that sustain us all.

“Weakening protections to shield industry from scrutiny is not leadership, it is negligence.

“Governments should be standing with us, ensuring that we can be proud to support their decisions, not forcing us to turn away in shame as they sacrifice the integrity of Sea Country for short-term financial gain.

“Australia is prepared to send peacekeepers overseas to ensure that international agreements are upheld, yet no such safeguards exist to protect the most fundamental peace of all, the balance between Country and industry.

"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have long understood that the health of Sea Country is inseparable from the well-being of people and communities. Protecting these waters is not just an environmental obligation; it’s a responsibility that speaks to who we are as a nation.

“We need action that strengthens environmental safeguards, respects cultural knowledge, and ensures that decisions made today do not come at the expense of future Australians.”

The Prime Minister says the Maguean skate is fine. You can take a look at what the science says.