The government has committed to establishing the promised Environmental Protection Agency, as it issued its response to the 2019 review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) by Professor Graeme Samuel.
Speaking on Thursday morning, environmental minister Tanya Plibersek said the new agency would make development decisions and enforce them.
The announcement was part of the launch of the “Nature Positive Plan: better for the environment, better for business”, the newly released government response to the review.
“I know there’ll be disagreements down the track; you’d expect that in an area where there’s so much reform to be done,” Plibersek said when announcing the environmental protection reforms.
“But to date, we’ve managed with cooperation with compromise, and with common sense, and I’m sure that we can proceed that way in the future as well.”
Within the new response, the EPA was described as a “tough ‘cop on the beat’”.
“The EPA will be responsible for compliance and enforcement under the new Act, holding proponents to account for their information, decisions and undertakings,” the report read.
“This will include the publication of mandatory guidelines to inform the development and submission of environmental, social and economic information in support of applications.”
The regulatory functions of the new agency include wildlife trade regulation, sea dumping, greenhouse gas emissions, hazardous waste, recycling, and underwater cultural heritage.
“The EPA will be an independent statutory entity, with a statutorily appointed CEO subject to removal only in specifically defined circumstances,” the report said.
As part of the 2022 Samuel review response, the government has also said it will establish a data division in DCCEEW to provide a source of “high-quality environmental information”.
“The Data Division will have a legislative mandate to provide environmental data to the EPA, the minister and the general public,” the report stated.
As part of its response, the government will establish the National Environmental Standards to set up environmental outcomes, with First Nations engagement and participation included in decision-making. The standards will be set up following consultation with stakeholders.
The government will also look into the radiation management of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency.
Plibersek already flagged the establishment of an Environmental Protection Agency back in July, telling the National Press Club the government was looking at a major overhaul of Australia’s environmental laws.
There is no environmental protection agency at a federal level, with one in every state and territory except for Queensland.
A total of 38 recommendations were made in the Samuel review, with the professor at the time cautioning the government should not “cherry-pick” which recommendations to implement.
“To shy away from the fundamental reforms recommended by this review is to accept the continued decline of our iconic places and the extinction of our most threatened plants, animals and ecosystems. This is unacceptable,” Samuels said back in 2021 per The Mandarin.
Back in June 2021, a response to the Samuel review under the previous government was criticised as weakening Australia’s environmental protection laws.
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