A new federal environmental watchdog will be set up by the Labor government as part of its attempt to revamp Australia's environmental laws.
Environment Minister Murray Watt announced on Sunday that the government would establish the nation's first-ever National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA), a new independent body to strengthen oversight.
He said the proposed body would act as a "strong, independent regulator" responsible for ensuring compliance with new environmental laws, auditing state and territory processes for project approvals and educating industry and community on the country's environmental legislation.
"An independent NEPA will have strong compliance and enforcement oversight to better protect our precious environment and ensure those who seek to illegally destroy it pay a high price," Watt said in a statement.
What will the NEPA do?
The new agency would exercise a range of powers independently of the environment minister, including compliance and auditing against new environmental laws, while allowing the minister to retain decision-making power for certain matters, including project approvals and accreditation of state and territory processes.
The establishment of NEPA is part of a broader package of proposed environmental law reforms, which also include new national environmental standards, changes to environmental offset policies and substantially higher penalties for businesses that break the law.
Sussan Ley has called Labor's proposed reforms an "environmental approvals disaster" that would add substantial red tape. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
Watt urged the Opposition and the Greens, which have been critical of the bill so far, to support the reforms when they come before parliament.
"The ball will soon be in the court of the Opposition and the Greens. Will they again team up to block these important reforms that will deliver better outcomes for our environment and for business?" he said.
Watt said Australia's laws "remain broken" nearly five years since Graeme Samuel tabled his report to then-environment minister Sussan Ley.
The Samuel Review, handed to the Coalition government in 2020 and led by the former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair, found Australia's national environmental laws were outdated and ineffective.
On Friday, Samuel told the ABC he was "frustrated" and "frankly, a little angry" about the Greens and Opposition's position on the proposed changes.
On Friday, Opposition leader Ley called the reforms an "environmental approvals disaster" that would add layers of bureaucracy.
Greens leader Larissa Waters has criticised the proposal for doing "little to protect nature", and that the change "weakens an already weak piece of legislation".
