The Greens and independent senator David Pocock have signalled they will expect the Albanese government to move more urgently to improve environmental protection if it is to win their support for conservation law changes next year.
On Thursday, the government released its response to the 2020 review of national environmental laws by the former competition watchdog Graeme Samuel. The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, announced a suite of proposed reforms, including a new environment protection authority and national environmental standards.
The design of the reforms would be worked through in 2023, with legislation to be introduced to parliament by the end of the year.
While aspects of the package have been welcomed, concerns have been raised about some elements including a decision not to create a climate trigger in national laws.
The pace of change has also been questioned by environment groups, the Greens and independent MPs, who all noted that any improvements to environmental protection and restoration would not occur until 2024 at the earliest.
Plibersek has described the response as a “nature positive win-win” for the environment and business that would turn the tide from environmental destruction to repair.
The Greens environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, said the government’s response to the review was moving in the right direction but lacked a sense of urgency to halt and reverse the unsustainable trajectory Samuel described in his report.
“The Greens will not be rubber stamping this legislative reform and will be pushing the Albanese government to go harder and faster to protect our environment,” she said.
“There is nothing in this package to save our iconic koala. There is nothing in this package to protect our native forests. There is no climate trigger, indeed there is very little to address the impact of the climate crisis on the environment at all.”
She said the government had missed an opportunity to protect the most important habitat areas immediately by putting a moratorium on land clearing.
The Coalition’s environment spokesperson, Jonathon Duniam, said the response to the review created “more uncertainty and more doubt for the business community and continues the assault on the job creators of our nation”.
“Far from the balance between environmental and economic outcomes promised, the lack of detail around how the new laws and standards would be developed, by whom, when and how they would operate creates a high degree of uncertainty which will sound alarm bells for those considering investing in our country,” he said.
Pocock said the government had a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn around the decline of Australia’s environment and its goal to end extinctions was welcome.
“Ambition needs to be backed with action and crucially, it needs to be backed with serious investment,” he said. “We need the [prime minister] and cabinet to back minister Plibersek up with the required investment to end extinctions.”
The independent MP Zali Steggal said the government’s response was well intentioned but “fails to adequately link the impacts of future mining and development on natural habitats and the cumulative impacts these activities will have on global warming and ultimately, even greater loss of natural habitat”.
“It’s unacceptable that there is no commitment from the government to immediately stop native forest logging and urgently protect what biodiversity we have left, as well as our natural carbon sinks,” she said.
The government has proposed applying the new national standards to regional forest agreements but has not outlined what form this would take or when it would occur, with details to be worked out in consultation.
The former Greens leader Bob Brown said the response was a “disappointment” with no climate trigger, no end to native forest logging and “critically, no funding”.
