Overview
- Environment Minister Murray Watt has brought together about 25 business, environmental, Indigenous and development groups in a bid to break a longstanding impasse over outdated national environmental laws.
- The 1999 EPBC Act was deemed ineffective by the 2020 Graeme Samuel review after piecemeal approvals were found to harm habitats and Indigenous heritage.
- Watt says he has held one-on-one consultations since replacing Tanya Plibersek and is optimistic that a compromise can secure passage of reforms this parliamentary term.
- Key debates focus on whether to embed a new climate change trigger in the EPBC Act or rely on the existing Safeguard Mechanism and on establishing an independent federal Environment Protection Agency.
- Previous reform efforts faltered when state governments and industry groups, notably in Western Australia, raised concerns that changes could impede mining and gas projects.