Latest news with #EnvironmentProtectionandBiodiversityConservationAct
West Australian
4 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Environment minister Murray Watt launches ‘reform train' with fresh talks on broken laws
Murray Watt has told everyone with an interest in overhauling approvals rules for the benefit of business and the environment to get on board the 'reform train.' The Environment Minister will bring about 20 stakeholder groups together on Thursday in Canberra to kick off consultation on revamping the 25-year-old Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. He has previously flagged he'll draw on the work his predecessor Tanya Plibersek did on the 'Nature Positive' version of reforms, which were shelved after failing to find support in Parliament. But he isn't wedded to any particular elements. Thursday's talks with environmental, mining, business, energy, residential construction, agriculture and Indigenous peak bodies will be high-level rather than looking at concrete proposals. 'To be honest, I think just getting these people in a room together is actually a positive step in itself, rather than everyone being in their corners throwing pot shots,' Senator Watt told The West, noting it had been more than a year since they'd all been in the same place. From his preliminary talks with stakeholders, he believed all were prepared to find compromises in recognition that environmental law reform was overdue and crucial. 'I'm going to be making clear at this meeting that the reform train is leaving the station. It is going to happen. As a government, we know broadly where we want to end up, but we haven't settled yet the exact destination for that train,' he said. 'All of these stakeholders have now got an opportunity to be on the train shaping the destination, or they can choose to remain on the platform, shouting from the sidelines.' Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson was encouraged by the new minister's rhetoric and his commitment to 'robust and transparent consultation' with a broad range of stakeholders. 'It has also been encouraging to hear Minister Watt reference recommendations contained in the Samuels Review as providing the framework for the reforms,' she said. 'Removing unnecessary duplication is one of the most effective ways to accelerate project approvals without compromising on the rigour of assessments.' Minerals Council of Australia head Tania Constable said 'practical changes' to the EPBC laws were urgently needed and her group was 'committed to working constructively with the Albanese Government to ensure these reforms deliver genuine progress'. Bran Black, who leads the Business Council of Australia, also pledged to work constructively, saying it was clear to everyone the status quo wasn't working. 'It's critical we speed up approvals, so we can build more homes and deliver much needed critical minerals projects,' he said. Australian Conservation Foundation boss Kelly O'Shannessy said 'the clock is ticking' on overhauling the broken laws for everyone's benefit. 'If you have clear national environmental standards that essentially set the rules around nature protection, businesses can then apply those as they're making decisions and assessments, and so can state governments. It makes the whole thing much more efficient,' she said.
The Advertiser
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
State branded climate change capital as emissions swell
Official figures showing greenhouse gas emissions in WA increasing to near record levels confirm the state as Australia's climate change capital, a Greens MP says. WA emitted 89.37 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2022/23, the latest available data shows, an annual increase of nearly four per cent on the previous year. The figures are in the National Inventory Report 2023, recently submitted to the UN climate change secretariat under reporting requirements of the Paris Agreement. The data, which spans 1989-2023, shows WA's highest emissions were 89.64Mt in 2009/10. Greens WA leader Brad Pettitt said it "reinforces what we already knew - Western Australia is the climate change capital of Australia". "WA's emissions have continued to rise under Labor in the critical decade for climate action, peaking again in 2023, almost 17 per cent above 2005 levels," he said. "The Cook Labor government have also dumped their commitment to legislate a pathway to net zero by 2050 - the absolute bare minimum - and continue to use Woodside talking points about WA gas helping to decarbonise Asia - talking points that have been proven to be false and misleading," Dr Pettitt said. Conservation Council of WA executive director Matt Roberts said it was "unfathomable" that Premier Roger Cook had indicated that he expected emissions to go up. He said that "folks are really fired up to try and express themselves in a way that they feel heard," about growing concerns over emissions. He was speaking after protests across the country on Wednesday targeting government MPs, as green groups pressure federal environment minister Murray Watt to consult the public and release the conditions of his approval to extend Woodside's North West Shelf gas project. The approval, announced on May 28, would allow Woodside to extend the project's life from 2030 to 2070, subject to conditions about the impact of air emission levels from the expanded onshore gas plant at Karratha in WA's northwest. Those conditions remain secret and a coalition of 80 groups and prominent individuals have written to Mr Watt demanding he publicly release them, and use his powers under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to allow the public to be consulted. Woodside still has to accept conditions around heritage and air quality at the project on WA's Burrup Peninsula, home to ancient rock art, before the approval is made official. On Wednesday morning, conservation councils coordinated protests against the approval at government and MP offices in all states and territories. Indigenous as well as non-Indigenous Australians "deserved to be heard" in light of recent information on climate, emissions and impacts from the facility on Murujuga rock art, Mr Roberts said. Campaigners fear the extension approval brings Woodside a step closer to tapping the Browse Basin gas field, a vast reserve beneath the pristine Scott Reef, north of Broome. "If the extension goes ahead, it will lock in polluting gas for decades to come, creating demand for new gas projects like Browse, bringing Woodside's toxic operations closer to Scott Reef, and setting back the clean energy transition in WA," Mr Roberts said. Official figures showing greenhouse gas emissions in WA increasing to near record levels confirm the state as Australia's climate change capital, a Greens MP says. WA emitted 89.37 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2022/23, the latest available data shows, an annual increase of nearly four per cent on the previous year. The figures are in the National Inventory Report 2023, recently submitted to the UN climate change secretariat under reporting requirements of the Paris Agreement. The data, which spans 1989-2023, shows WA's highest emissions were 89.64Mt in 2009/10. Greens WA leader Brad Pettitt said it "reinforces what we already knew - Western Australia is the climate change capital of Australia". "WA's emissions have continued to rise under Labor in the critical decade for climate action, peaking again in 2023, almost 17 per cent above 2005 levels," he said. "The Cook Labor government have also dumped their commitment to legislate a pathway to net zero by 2050 - the absolute bare minimum - and continue to use Woodside talking points about WA gas helping to decarbonise Asia - talking points that have been proven to be false and misleading," Dr Pettitt said. Conservation Council of WA executive director Matt Roberts said it was "unfathomable" that Premier Roger Cook had indicated that he expected emissions to go up. He said that "folks are really fired up to try and express themselves in a way that they feel heard," about growing concerns over emissions. He was speaking after protests across the country on Wednesday targeting government MPs, as green groups pressure federal environment minister Murray Watt to consult the public and release the conditions of his approval to extend Woodside's North West Shelf gas project. The approval, announced on May 28, would allow Woodside to extend the project's life from 2030 to 2070, subject to conditions about the impact of air emission levels from the expanded onshore gas plant at Karratha in WA's northwest. Those conditions remain secret and a coalition of 80 groups and prominent individuals have written to Mr Watt demanding he publicly release them, and use his powers under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to allow the public to be consulted. Woodside still has to accept conditions around heritage and air quality at the project on WA's Burrup Peninsula, home to ancient rock art, before the approval is made official. On Wednesday morning, conservation councils coordinated protests against the approval at government and MP offices in all states and territories. Indigenous as well as non-Indigenous Australians "deserved to be heard" in light of recent information on climate, emissions and impacts from the facility on Murujuga rock art, Mr Roberts said. Campaigners fear the extension approval brings Woodside a step closer to tapping the Browse Basin gas field, a vast reserve beneath the pristine Scott Reef, north of Broome. "If the extension goes ahead, it will lock in polluting gas for decades to come, creating demand for new gas projects like Browse, bringing Woodside's toxic operations closer to Scott Reef, and setting back the clean energy transition in WA," Mr Roberts said. Official figures showing greenhouse gas emissions in WA increasing to near record levels confirm the state as Australia's climate change capital, a Greens MP says. WA emitted 89.37 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2022/23, the latest available data shows, an annual increase of nearly four per cent on the previous year. The figures are in the National Inventory Report 2023, recently submitted to the UN climate change secretariat under reporting requirements of the Paris Agreement. The data, which spans 1989-2023, shows WA's highest emissions were 89.64Mt in 2009/10. Greens WA leader Brad Pettitt said it "reinforces what we already knew - Western Australia is the climate change capital of Australia". "WA's emissions have continued to rise under Labor in the critical decade for climate action, peaking again in 2023, almost 17 per cent above 2005 levels," he said. "The Cook Labor government have also dumped their commitment to legislate a pathway to net zero by 2050 - the absolute bare minimum - and continue to use Woodside talking points about WA gas helping to decarbonise Asia - talking points that have been proven to be false and misleading," Dr Pettitt said. Conservation Council of WA executive director Matt Roberts said it was "unfathomable" that Premier Roger Cook had indicated that he expected emissions to go up. He said that "folks are really fired up to try and express themselves in a way that they feel heard," about growing concerns over emissions. He was speaking after protests across the country on Wednesday targeting government MPs, as green groups pressure federal environment minister Murray Watt to consult the public and release the conditions of his approval to extend Woodside's North West Shelf gas project. The approval, announced on May 28, would allow Woodside to extend the project's life from 2030 to 2070, subject to conditions about the impact of air emission levels from the expanded onshore gas plant at Karratha in WA's northwest. Those conditions remain secret and a coalition of 80 groups and prominent individuals have written to Mr Watt demanding he publicly release them, and use his powers under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to allow the public to be consulted. Woodside still has to accept conditions around heritage and air quality at the project on WA's Burrup Peninsula, home to ancient rock art, before the approval is made official. On Wednesday morning, conservation councils coordinated protests against the approval at government and MP offices in all states and territories. Indigenous as well as non-Indigenous Australians "deserved to be heard" in light of recent information on climate, emissions and impacts from the facility on Murujuga rock art, Mr Roberts said. Campaigners fear the extension approval brings Woodside a step closer to tapping the Browse Basin gas field, a vast reserve beneath the pristine Scott Reef, north of Broome. "If the extension goes ahead, it will lock in polluting gas for decades to come, creating demand for new gas projects like Browse, bringing Woodside's toxic operations closer to Scott Reef, and setting back the clean energy transition in WA," Mr Roberts said. Official figures showing greenhouse gas emissions in WA increasing to near record levels confirm the state as Australia's climate change capital, a Greens MP says. WA emitted 89.37 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2022/23, the latest available data shows, an annual increase of nearly four per cent on the previous year. The figures are in the National Inventory Report 2023, recently submitted to the UN climate change secretariat under reporting requirements of the Paris Agreement. The data, which spans 1989-2023, shows WA's highest emissions were 89.64Mt in 2009/10. Greens WA leader Brad Pettitt said it "reinforces what we already knew - Western Australia is the climate change capital of Australia". "WA's emissions have continued to rise under Labor in the critical decade for climate action, peaking again in 2023, almost 17 per cent above 2005 levels," he said. "The Cook Labor government have also dumped their commitment to legislate a pathway to net zero by 2050 - the absolute bare minimum - and continue to use Woodside talking points about WA gas helping to decarbonise Asia - talking points that have been proven to be false and misleading," Dr Pettitt said. Conservation Council of WA executive director Matt Roberts said it was "unfathomable" that Premier Roger Cook had indicated that he expected emissions to go up. He said that "folks are really fired up to try and express themselves in a way that they feel heard," about growing concerns over emissions. He was speaking after protests across the country on Wednesday targeting government MPs, as green groups pressure federal environment minister Murray Watt to consult the public and release the conditions of his approval to extend Woodside's North West Shelf gas project. The approval, announced on May 28, would allow Woodside to extend the project's life from 2030 to 2070, subject to conditions about the impact of air emission levels from the expanded onshore gas plant at Karratha in WA's northwest. Those conditions remain secret and a coalition of 80 groups and prominent individuals have written to Mr Watt demanding he publicly release them, and use his powers under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to allow the public to be consulted. Woodside still has to accept conditions around heritage and air quality at the project on WA's Burrup Peninsula, home to ancient rock art, before the approval is made official. On Wednesday morning, conservation councils coordinated protests against the approval at government and MP offices in all states and territories. Indigenous as well as non-Indigenous Australians "deserved to be heard" in light of recent information on climate, emissions and impacts from the facility on Murujuga rock art, Mr Roberts said. Campaigners fear the extension approval brings Woodside a step closer to tapping the Browse Basin gas field, a vast reserve beneath the pristine Scott Reef, north of Broome. "If the extension goes ahead, it will lock in polluting gas for decades to come, creating demand for new gas projects like Browse, bringing Woodside's toxic operations closer to Scott Reef, and setting back the clean energy transition in WA," Mr Roberts said.
Sky News AU
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Labor to avoid climate trigger in EPBC Act as North West Shelf gas project gets green light to 2070
Sky News Sunday Agenda understands the Albanese government will not support Greens calls to include climate change in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. The Albanese government will not support the Greens' proposal to insert a climate trigger into national environment laws, according to sources. The position has come into focus following Environment Minister Murray Watt's decision to approve Woodside's North West Shelf gas project extension until 2070. Mr Watt confirmed the approval on Wednesday, allowing one of the country's largest LNG operations to continue well beyond the government's goal of net zero emissions by 2050. The decision was made without any consideration of the project's climate impact as the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act does not include this as a factor. Under the EPBC Act, the minister was only required to assess the project's impact on matters such as indigenous heritage, including Murujuga rock art on the site. Sky News Sunday Agenda understands that while the government will proceed with long-promised reforms to the EPBC Act, these will not include a climate trigger. The government will follow the advice of the 2021 Samuel Review into the EPBC Act—commissioned by former environment minister Sussan Ley. — Larissa Waters (@larissawaters) May 30, 2025 The Greens have publicly accused Labor of preparing to greenlight the North West Shelf project in secret and failing their first major climate test in government. Greens leader Larissa Waters said the party would 'be encouraging environment groups to take legal action against this approval' in a statement on Thursday. 'Approving fossil fuels out to 2070 totally undermines the government's commitment to net zero by 2050, which is already too late for a safe climate future,' she said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the role of gas in supporting the country's transition to renewables on Monday. 'You can't have renewables unless you have firming capacity. You don't change a transition through warm thoughts,' he told reporters at a press conference. 'You do it through a concrete proposal, which is the expansion of renewables up to 82 per cent of the grid, but the way that that occurs is it needs firming capacity to occur.' The story of this parliament increasingly appears to be that Labor can pass its agenda with solely Greens support—but so far appears unwilling to adopt any of their key demands.
West Australian
28-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Clean energy, environment unity ticket on nature laws
Environment groups and the clean energy industry have found common ground on long-awaited nature law reforms, joining forces to urge the federal government to hurry up and finish the job. The unprecedented alliance between the Clean Energy Council, Australian Conservation Foundation, Australian Marine Conservation Society and others is bound by the shared belief that existing environmental protections are failing both biodiversity and the energy transition. "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-shape the law to tackle Australia's climate and nature crises," Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy said. The federal laws designed to kick in when renewable energy, mines and development threaten vulnerable species and other "matters of national environmental significance" are widely considered ineffective and in need of overhaul. The federal government has promised reform but failed to complete the task in its first three-year term. In the meantime, existing regulations have failed to stop projects destroying critical habitat at the same time as cumbersome environmental assessments have delayed the clean energy rollout. Clean Energy Investor Group chief executive Richie Merzian said the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act was the number one concern for renewable energy investors and developers. Projects were taking nearly twice as long to secure approval and the assessment backlog was growing, Mr Merzian told AAP. "We want to see faster yeses and faster nos," he said. The alliance, which also includes the Electrical Trades Union, Re-Alliance, WWF Australia and Biodiversity Council, agree on key pieces of environmental reform including legally-enforceable standards to prevent subjective ministerial decision-making. Setting up an independent "cop on the beat" Environmental Protection Agency was also backed by the coalition, as well as more resources for departments to keep projects moving through the process. Better planning should further help solar and wind developers identify "regions we should and shouldn't be working in". Mr Merzian said the "nature versus climate" narrative was false. "We can and should be doing both," he said. Electrical Trades Union national secretary Michael Wright said delayed environmental assessments were making it hard to train workers for future jobs. "The uncertainty of the assessment process means there is no reliable pipeline of work for communities or to train apprentices on anywhere close to the scale we need," he said. New environment minister Murray Watt has already indicated that legislating a federal environment watchdog will be one of the top priorities for the returned government. It's not been the only pressing matter competing for his attention, with the minister opting to greenlight Woodside's proposal to extend its North West Shelf project in Western Australia after years of delays. The expansion has been granted commonwealth go-ahead despite concerns about its emissions burden and impact on sacred rock art.
Perth Now
28-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Clean energy, environment unity ticket on nature laws
Environment groups and the clean energy industry have found common ground on long-awaited nature law reforms, joining forces to urge the federal government to hurry up and finish the job. The unprecedented alliance between the Clean Energy Council, Australian Conservation Foundation, Australian Marine Conservation Society and others is bound by the shared belief that existing environmental protections are failing both biodiversity and the energy transition. "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-shape the law to tackle Australia's climate and nature crises," Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy said. The federal laws designed to kick in when renewable energy, mines and development threaten vulnerable species and other "matters of national environmental significance" are widely considered ineffective and in need of overhaul. The federal government has promised reform but failed to complete the task in its first three-year term. In the meantime, existing regulations have failed to stop projects destroying critical habitat at the same time as cumbersome environmental assessments have delayed the clean energy rollout. Clean Energy Investor Group chief executive Richie Merzian said the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act was the number one concern for renewable energy investors and developers. Projects were taking nearly twice as long to secure approval and the assessment backlog was growing, Mr Merzian told AAP. "We want to see faster yeses and faster nos," he said. The alliance, which also includes the Electrical Trades Union, Re-Alliance, WWF Australia and Biodiversity Council, agree on key pieces of environmental reform including legally-enforceable standards to prevent subjective ministerial decision-making. Setting up an independent "cop on the beat" Environmental Protection Agency was also backed by the coalition, as well as more resources for departments to keep projects moving through the process. Better planning should further help solar and wind developers identify "regions we should and shouldn't be working in". Mr Merzian said the "nature versus climate" narrative was false. "We can and should be doing both," he said. Electrical Trades Union national secretary Michael Wright said delayed environmental assessments were making it hard to train workers for future jobs. "The uncertainty of the assessment process means there is no reliable pipeline of work for communities or to train apprentices on anywhere close to the scale we need," he said. New environment minister Murray Watt has already indicated that legislating a federal environment watchdog will be one of the top priorities for the returned government. It's not been the only pressing matter competing for his attention, with the minister opting to greenlight Woodside's proposal to extend its North West Shelf project in Western Australia after years of delays. The expansion has been granted commonwealth go-ahead despite concerns about its emissions burden and impact on sacred rock art.
