What has the Australian Government promised since becoming re-elected? 

Minister Murray Watt convened a high-level round-table in Canberra on 19 June to restart environmental reform consultation. The Minister declared he intends to deliver a full rewrite of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act within 18 months. [1] 

Minister Watt has shared that the reforms will be built around three pillars: stronger environmental protection, quicker and clearer project approvals, and greater accountability. Minister Watt has proposed to include legally enforceable National Environmental Standards, region-wide land and seascape planning to pre-map “no-go” and “development” zones, a tougher offsets regime, and mandatory publication of environmental data. [2] Minister Watt has also recommitted to creating an independent federal agency, Environment Protection Australia, and its sister data agency, Environment Information Australia. 

While this sounds promising, we are cautious because similar promises were made by Minister Watt’s predecessor. Reform efforts began in 2022 in the wake of Graeme Samuel’s scathing independent review of the EPBC Act. Minister Plibersek began the drafting and consultation process with interested groups in 2023. Unfortunately, the proposed reforms were never passed as they received backlash from mining states and were subject to political turmoil. [3]

What do strong nature laws look like? 

An overhaul of the EPBC Act requires measures that are effective at halting nature’s decline. As members of the Places You Love Alliance, an alliance of 60+ organisations, we’re asking the Australian Government to introduce stronger national laws that achieve the following: 

  • Set strong and enforceable National Environmental Standards that safeguard nature against further destruction.
  • Properly fund habitat restoration and species recovery.
  • Create a truly independent Environment Protection Australia that will monitor and enforce these laws.
  • A climate trigger so that new coal, oil and gas projects cannot sail through federal approvals while driving ocean-heating emissions.
  • Close legal loopholes that favour big businesses over nature.

The reforms must include mechanisms to save the marine animals we have left, adequate funding to recover threatened species populations, and the budget to monitor and enforce compliance.

Why are strong nature laws so important in Australia? 

What happens if these promised reforms fall short? It could impact Australia’s ability to face its environmental challenges, protect its biodiversity and meet its environmental commitments. 

Biodiversity outcomes will continue to be compromised. The EPBC Act in its current form has obviously struggled to stem Australia’s worsening extinction crisis. Since the Act’s inception in 2000, the list of threatened species has more than doubled, and Australia has led developed nations in wildlife extinctions. 

“The EPBC Act is ineffective. It does not enable the Commonwealth to effectively protect environmental matters that are important for the nation. It is not fit to address current or future environmental challenges.” – Samuels Review 

Every year without stronger protections, more ocean threatening developments are approved. The Great Barrier Reef has suffered five mass coral bleaching events in the past decade, as the current law hasn’t curbed root causes like climate change, run off and water pollution. We’ve also seen the Act’s limitations in fisheries and coastal developments. Some dolphin populations, like the Australian humpback dolphin in Queensland, are at risk from coastal habitat loss and pollution. The Act technically prohibits the killing of whales and dolphins, but lack of proper enforcement means incidents like bycatch in trawlers can continue with little consequence. 

Furthermore, without a climate trigger, proposals for offshore oil and gas drilling that could affect marine life could still be approved without considering the broader climate-ocean impact. Without stronger laws, these kinds of harms can keep happening.

Failing to introduce reformed effective nature laws could impact Australia’s ability to meet its 2030 and 2050 environmental targets. By 2030, Australia aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 43%, protect 30% of land and sea, and stem species extinctions. By 2050, the goals include net-zero emissions and being “nature positive” by 2050. The EPBC Act can be a key tool to achieve these goals if its words achieve strong protections for nature. 

There are implications for communities and future generations. Weak laws could mean more community opposed developments are approved, leaving communities feeling disempowered and nature values eroded. It can also mean lost economic opportunities in sustainability. For instance, nature-based tourism suffers if iconic wildlife disappears or reefs die off. And future Australians could inherit a poorer natural world, losing certain wonders of the ocean that we sometimes take for granted.

Drafting is under way for new nature laws, with stakeholder working groups in progress. We are hopeful the Minister can give marine animals the legal lifeline they desperately need. 

If you would like to take action, add your name to our petition calling for the Minister to introduce strong nature laws. Add your voice to a chorus of millions who love nature and want to help save it.