The nation's first national independent Environment Protection Agency will be created and penalties beefed-up to include fines of up to $780 million and seven years imprisonment for the most serious breaches of federal environment law in major reforms announced on Tuesday.
In announcing the second tranche of proposals under the government's 'Nature Positive Plan', Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the package would include $100 million to accelerate environmental planning approval decisions, including those for major renewable and critical mineral projects.
However, Labor faces a battle to get the legislation through Parliament, with the Coalition and key crossbenchers critical of aspects of the rebuild of Australia's centrepiece environmental legislation.
The revamp is the government's long-awaited response to Professor Graeme Samuel's independent review of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, released in October 2020, that made 38 recommendations to fix and strengthen environmental laws he blasted as "ineffective", "outdated" and not fit for purpose.
The government said the legislation would be finalised by the end of last year but said it was delayed due to the hundreds of hours of stakeholder consultations needed to hash through the proposals.
It is now being drafted and released section by section, but Ms Plibersek could not reveal when the third NPP stage - an exposure draft of the new laws, including the much-vaunted National Environmental Standards - would be released for public consultation.
"They'll be introduced when they're ready... we're still consulting (with) people at the extremes of the argument on both sides. We've got environmental groups who never want anything built anywhere, anytime. We've got businesses who say we should be able to do whatever we like, whenever we like, wherever we like," she said.
"We want to make sure we get this right."
The political reaction to yesterday's announcement reflected those comments, with the Greens wanting Labor to go further and faster to protect nature and Coalition leader Peter Dutton suggesting the laws were "anti-development" and "the death of mining."
However, while Senate and house crossbenchers have written to Ms Plibersek demanding the reforms in full, stakeholders including the National Farmers Federation have supported the staged approach to reform as it allows more time for scrutiny of broader legislative changes and to negotiate more effective working partnerships with Federal regulators.
It is still believed the full package could be released before the forthcoming Federal Budget.
Meanwhile, the increased potential court-ordered pecuniary and custodial penalties flagged under the proposals would be complemented by handing the new statutory environmental watchdog, charged with making development decisions and enforcing regulations, a range of enforcement measures including immediate 'stop-work' orders.
A second statutory body, Environment Information Australia, would be created to provide stakeholders better access to higher-quality environmental data, in some cases allowing applicants to bypass the current situation of having to replicate scientific studies.
Under the EPBC Act, projects or developments such as mines, land clearing and forestry that might impact "animals, plants, habitats and places" of national significance require federal assessment and approval.
The $100m to fast-track approvals, set aside in last year's Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, will by used to increase staff and streamline planning and approval processes, including clearly defining 'no go' zones and where developments can occur.
Although some industry leaders, including farmers and miners, remain sceptical in how the legislation will play out operationally, Ms Plibersek said the changes would support faster, clearer decisions and provide business the certainty it needs to invest in nation-building projects.
"When I first announced the Nature Positive Plan, I said it would take a bit of cooperation, compromise and common sense to deliver. That's exactly how we're approaching the rollout," Ms Plibersek said.
Both the EPA and EIA chief positions will be statutory office holders with independent functions.
Recent notices for breaching the Act include for illegal land clearing, damage caused by earthworks and a company forced to take mitigate its NSW property after herbicides were applied to "a critically endangered ecological community."
Ms Plibersek said an ongoing audit had found one in seven developments could be in breach of their offset conditions.
