Australia’s Minister for Agriculture, Drought, and Emergency Management, Murray Watt, emphasized the urgent need to update the nation’s outdated environmental laws. During a recent discussion, he highlighted that the current legal framework, established in 1999, fails to address critical issues such as climate change, housing shortages, and productivity improvements that are crucial for increasing wages.
Watt’s statements go a long way toward allaying growing concerns about these old, useless laws. These laws apply to all large projects for coal, oil, and gas, stopping the rejection of projects due to their carbon emissions. Our nation is in the throes of a longstanding housing crisis and a newly intensified climate crisis. Watt’s call for reform goes a long way toward fixing both of these major pitfalls.
The Call for Reform
Watt went on to restate the sentiment that Australia’s current Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) laws are not set up to take climate impacts into account. He called out the fact that the laws don’t require these considerations to be made. The Australian federal government has finally begun putting serious regulations into place, mandating high-emitting industries reduce emissions 5 percent per year and aim for net-zero emissions by 2050.
It doesn’t have to be a ‘climate trigger’. There are a whole range of ways that climate can be included in the act,” said Amanda McKenzie from the Climate Council, emphasizing the importance of incorporating climate concerns into the legal framework. The case for these reforms has never been more urgent. Yet today, apparently, Australia is under increasing pressure to bring its policies in line with climate goals.
One of the first things Watt said was that he knows the task ahead isn’t simple. “I am not naive enough to think we are going to reach agreement on every single point with every single group,” he stated. This acknowledgment reflects the diverse opinions among stakeholders regarding how climate considerations should be integrated into environmental laws.
Stakeholder Perspectives
As the debate around these reforms has unfolded, lawmakers, practitioners, advocates, and community members have shared their perspectives on these important changes. Sarah Hanson-Young, a prominent advocate for environmental protection, urged Watt to impose a moratorium on approvals for fossil fuel projects during the consultation period. “While you are running these consultations… put in place a moratorium on the destruction of our native forests, critical habitat, and any more approvals of fossil fuel mining,” she remarked.
Specifically, Hanson-Young further warned that without climate considerations, the proposed VKT reforms would be devoid of any credibility. “No environment laws will be credible if they come forward without some form of a ‘climate trigger’ or climate considerations,” she asserted. Her comments underscore the importance of the bedrock public participation provision that connects environmental law and climate policy. This important intersection of interests must be recognized in any upcoming legislation.
Watt is certainly enthusiastic about some alternative methodologies. He intends to fold climate considerations into the National Environmental Standards that will trump these laws. In an interview, he said he wanted to finalize elements of the bill as soon as possible to allow time for the complicated drafting process to unfold. “What I don’t want to do is wait until we have got full agreement on every possible package before drafting,” he stated.
The Road Ahead
The timeline for reform is challenging. Watt’s statement that no legislation would be introduced before Christmas means a longer road for much-needed updates. He concluded that on the need for immediate reforms, miners, environmentalists and developers are on the same page. They hope to make these amendments in the next 18 months.
He mentioned that the Coalition’s backing will be key to getting any reforms passed. He noted that support from the Greens will be crucial too. “This is a good example of what is going to need to work through with the different stakeholders in the months ahead,” Watt explained. As discussions progress, it remains to be seen how various interest groups will influence the outcomes of these anticipated changes.
At this point, the stage seems set for at least one more round of political horsetrading as Australia makes another attempt to shake up its environmental laws. What happens in these negotiations will have huge ramifications for federal housing policy and U.S. climate action in the years to come.