Nature Laws Report Card

Prevent extinctions and recover threatened native wildlife

✅ The Government has publicly committed to no new extinctions

✅ The Government has committed internationally to protecting 30% of Australia’s land and sea by 2030

❔ While the Government has introduced legislation to establish EPA and EIA, it has made no commitment on the timing of the critical next stage of legislation to establish enforceable standards, improve project approval processes and reform conservation planning

❔ Every one of over 2,000 threatened animals and plants must have a legally-binding and effective plan for recovery and conservation, and the Government must increase funding substantially to enable implementation

Enact robust rules and standards to protect and restore nature

✅ The Government is preparing legally enforceable standards that will be included in legislation. These draft standards include new rules for protecting Matters of National Environmental Significance (e.g. threatened species, World Heritage Areas)

❔ These new standards, in order to halt the destruction of habitat critical to the survival of threatened species, must be rules-based and rigorous, unlike the current laws, and the new scheme must be adequately funded to enable it to succeed

❔ The Government’s proposed “restoration actions” (offsets renamed) and “restoration payments” scheme must be designed, implemented and monitored to ensure that it delivers real positive environmental outcomes, rather than facilitating the destruction of critical habitat and loss of threatened species.

Build the Agency that has the grit to apply and enforce the rules

👍 The Government has introduced legislation to establish the new agency known as Environment Protection Australia (EPA)

❔ EPA will be responsible for deciding whether major projects and developments are approved, but will still be administering our current, broken nature laws

❔ The Government must ensure adequate funding for the EPA to be effective

❌ The Minister will retain a general discretion to exempt a proposal from the legislation or make decisions, and these decisions do not need to comply with environmental laws

❌ The EPA CEO would be appointed by the Minister and there would be no independent board, raising serious concerns about the future EPA’s independence

Improve accountability and public trust

👍 The Government has introduced legislation to establish Environment Information Australia (EIA), to maintain a data portal, manage reporting information, and advise on Australia’s environmental performance

👍 EIA needs to be properly enabled by having a more rigorous definition of ‘nature positive’ and by being tasked to track the progress of individual threatened species

❔ The Government has announced a new standard for community engagement and consultation, but it needs to be strengthened to ensure meaningful community consultation and participation in environmental decision-making

❌ The Government has ruled out the community’s ability to initiate a legal ‘merits review’ of project approvals to ensure that the correct decisions are being made