Roundtable restarts environmental law reform consultation

Minister for the Environment and Water, Murray Watt, hosted a high-level roundtable in Canberra yesterday, bringing together around 30 leaders from across the environmental, resources, energy, climate, housing and agricultural sectors, as well as First Nations representatives to discuss Australia’s environmental laws.

The Minister has stated that he intends to deliver the reforms within 18 months.

The Biodiversity Council welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the Minister's roundtable. Biodiversity Council Director James Trezise attended the consultation.

"It was encouraging to see some areas of broad agreement across diverse sectors on some key aspects of reform: the need for strong national environmental standards, the need for better regional planning and better environmental information," said Mr Trezise.

"It's also clear there is a lot of work to do to develop the detail and bridge the divide between the diverse sectors and communities.

"Context here is important: Australia is the world leader in mammal extinctions and second overall for biodiversity loss. Our national threatened species list can't keep up with the declining rate of native biodiversity. Business as usual simply won't cut it.

"The Australian Government has a unique opportunity to demonstrate leadership on nature protection through this process, to protect the important places and species that are rapidly disappearing whilst also developing a more streamlined way in which decisions can be made - one that focuses less on process, and more on outcomes.

"Fixing our national laws is only part of the solution, but an important part. New laws must deliver for people and nature first and foremost."

We look forward to working constructively with the government, industry, First Nations representatives and community groups to ensure the new laws are up to the task of reversing Australia’s biodiversity crisis.

In a media release after the event Minister Watt said, "Everyone agrees that our current laws are broken. They are not working for the environment, and they are not working for business.

"This process offers a massive opportunity to drive long-lasting change that benefits our natural environment and all Australians. That’s why it is my intention to deliver these reforms within the next 18 months.”

The statement also said that details regarding future consultation will be made in future announcements.