‘You can’t consider climate and nature separately’: Waters says EPBC reform must include climate trigger
The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, joins RN Breakfast after Murray Watt, and says she welcomes the urgency of getting the EPBC legislation into parliament this year, but the Greens want to see a climate trigger.
We have always said that climate should be considered by our nature laws, and you just have to look at the algal bloom in South Australia to know that you can’t consider climate and nature separately …
I think it was a bit artificial to say that you’ve got other laws that deal with climate, therefore you shouldn’t have the climate impact on nature considered.
Asked about streamlining the approvals process for housing under the current EPBC act, Waters says there is room for greater efficiencies in the process, but ultimately the federal government to “uphold those international conventions and standards.”
Key events
When will the government announce its 2035 emissions targets?
While Labor sledges the Coalition over its disunity on climate action, the government still hasn’t revealed its own 2035 emission targets, or released a long awaited climate risk report.
The government is running out of time to announce a new target – and Watt says more detail will be revealed next month.
But Labor is remaining tight-lipped on how ambitious that target will be.
[Energy minister] Chris Bowen is doing a power of work on that at the moment, and he’s already indicated that in September, we’ll be revealing a lot more about that.
Murray Watt is continuing his media rounds, moving to Sky News, and says one of the red tape issues under current environment laws is where a project requires both state and federal approval.
He gives an example of his recent approval of a housing development at the Queen Victoria markets in Melbourne, which he says followed years of consideration by the state government.
We think that it is possible to reduce that kind of duplication in the system rather than having both levels of government double up. That would enable a much quicker approval, but at the same time, those assessments will be done against strong standards.
Watt then brushes off concerns from the National party that some industries would get a free pass under the reforms while other industries like mining wouldn’t.
We all know that the word environment is allergic to National Party members. We’re seeing them run around the parliament constantly try to undermine Sussan Ley’s leadership on net zero… The sort of system that we’re looking at putting in place would treat different projects and different sectors in a very similar way.
Australia Post suspends parcel deliveries to US
Australia Post is temporarily suspending some international parcel services to the US and Puerto Rico due to the Trump administration’s tariffs.
The halt will prevent most Australian businesses from selling to US customers until a new pre-paid tariff system can be set up.
From today parcels will have to detail their country of origin and a harmonised system (HS) tariff code, with tariffs on low-value parcels due to take effect within days.
From Friday, 29 August, parcels valued under US$800 imported into the US will attract tariffs or flat fees – where they were previously exempt.
Aus Post will continue shipping letters, documents of no commercial value and gifts that are sent by individuals and are worth less than US$100.
‘You can’t consider climate and nature separately’: Waters says EPBC reform must include climate trigger
The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, joins RN Breakfast after Murray Watt, and says she welcomes the urgency of getting the EPBC legislation into parliament this year, but the Greens want to see a climate trigger.
We have always said that climate should be considered by our nature laws, and you just have to look at the algal bloom in South Australia to know that you can’t consider climate and nature separately …
I think it was a bit artificial to say that you’ve got other laws that deal with climate, therefore you shouldn’t have the climate impact on nature considered.
Asked about streamlining the approvals process for housing under the current EPBC act, Waters says there is room for greater efficiencies in the process, but ultimately the federal government to “uphold those international conventions and standards.”
Housing developers will be ‘incentivised’ to provide information for faster approvals: Watt
One of the announcements from last week’s economic roundtable was the fast-tracking of up to 26,000 homes currently held up by the EPBC Act.
So how will those homes actually be fast-tracked?
Murray Watt tells RN Breakfast one of the problems in the system is sometimes developers don’t provide all the information they should – and if they did, a project could be approved in as little as four months.
This is another measure that we’re taking within our existing resources to focus them on clearing that backlog of housing. But also what we announced over the weekend is that we want to make better use of an existing pathway under the EPBC legislation that allows for rapid assessment of projects.
We want to incentivise companies to do the right thing and come to us with all of the information that’s required, and that will enable us to make a much faster assessment.
EPBC reforms will be in ‘spirit’ of 2021 Samuel review, Watt says
Joining ABC Radio National Breakfast, Murray Watt says the EPBC reforms will be in the “spirit” of the Graeme Samuel review of the legislation.
Graeme’s report came down nearly five years ago, but it’s been nearly 20 years since there’s been any proper overhaul of these laws. They’re not working for business, they’re not working for environment. If we don’t fix these laws, we won’t get the housing we need, we won’t get the renewables we need, and we certainly will continue to see the environment suffer.
To recap, here’s what Samuel recommended in his review, which he handed to the previous Coalition government in 2021:
Watt says Samuel’s recommendations fall into three categories:
Firstly, stronger environmental protections, secondly, quicker and more efficient approvals, and thirdly, more transparency regarding decision making on environmental regulation.
There are still a lot of unknowns with the reforms – for example, Watt has promised that the government will establish a federal environmental protection agency, but he’s still consulting on what that body will look like.
Greens keen to negotiate with Labor on environmental law reforms that don’t ‘trash nature’, Waters says
In the last parliament, the government had just reached a deal with the Greens and members of the crossbench, to get its environmental laws over the line.
Now that they’ve had to go back to the drawing board, the Coalition and the Greens will be approached for negotiation (as Murray Watt outlined a bit earlier).
On the Today show a bit earlier the Greens leader, Larissa Waters, said her party is “pretty keen” for reform, but wants those laws to focus on the climate crisis.
We need laws that actually act on the climate crisis, protect nature. And of course, we will always stand for making sure everyone’s got a home, a roof over their heads in this wealthy country. So the offer’s there. We’re looking forward to those discussions with government. Or they can choose to do a deal that will just pave the way for more big business profits, trash nature and leave ordinary people behind with the Libs.
Gaza hospital strike a ‘breach of international law’: Watt
Murray Watt says the government condemns the double bombing of a Gaza hospital which killed 20 people, including five journalists, according to local health officials.
Watt says:
It’s very clear that targeting or hitting hospitals, health workers and civilians is a breach of international law. We join with the rest of the international community in condemning this action.
He’s asked on News Breakfast whether the government will place more sanctions on members of the Israeli government, but Watt won’t say.
He repeats lines the prime minister has said, that the government has already applied sanctions to some individuals in the Israeli government.
New environment reforms to be put to parliament ‘this side of Christmas’, Watt says
The environment minister, Murray Watt, says there hasn’t yet been a deal reached on critical environment laws but the government is “a lot closer than we were and have been for many years”.
The government planned to reform the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) act in the last parliamentary term under the then environment minister, Tanya Plibersek – but that deal was scuttled at the 11th hour.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, he says:
We have committed today to bring forward by several months the introduction of this legislation, we’ll be introducing it to the parliament this side of Christmas, and we certainly will be seeking the support from both the coalition and the Greens to deliver these reforms.
A big sticking point for the Greens and some independents is a climate trigger – which would require the act to take into consideration the climate impact of a proposed project before approving it.
Watt says the government hasn’t “settled on a position” on that issue.
I would point out, Graham Samuel in his review [of the EPBC act] did not recommend a climate trigger. He expressly ruled that out. What he recommended is companies when they’re putting forward projects for approval, should disclose their emissions and what their plans are to reduce their emissions going forward.
Aukus ‘really critical for decades to come’, Rishworth says, despite US review
Aukus is still critical for Australia, cabinet minister Amanda Rishworth says, as the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, meets with his defence counterpart in the US.
The US is currently reviewing the Aukus deal, with a report due by the end of the year.
Rishworth is on the Today show and says Marles is working “very hard” with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, and that there is bipartisan support for the security pact.
Our three countries – the US, UK and Australia – have been committed to this arrangement. It is really critical for decades to come.
Rishworth is joined by the Greens leader, Larissa Waters, who is far less enthusiastic about the pact. (The Greens have been highly critical of Aukus since its announcement).
This is a dog of a deal for submarines that we may never receive anyway. It’s costing us an absolute motza.
Good morning!
Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
Murray Watt is doing the media rounds this morning – he’s planning to put major environment reforms to parliament this year. (You can read more about the EPBC changes here).
The chambers will be sitting a bit later this morning, because we have party room meetings – where party leaders will give their colleagues a bit of a gee up and they’ll discuss what policies they want to put forward or support over the sitting fortnight.
It’s going to be a busy one, so let’s get going!
Tory Shepherd
Single Mother Families Australia calls for safety supplement for women who have experienced intimate partner violence
Single mothers are carrying “herculean” emotional and financial burdens that are even more intense if they have fled domestic violence, Single Mother Families Australia (SMFA) says.
A Swinburne University survey carried out for SMFA of 2,600 women found nearly seven in 10 had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) and nearly one in five were currently experiencing it. Of those, about one in three were experiencing financial abuse or coercive control.
Almost four in five single mothers spend a lot or almost all of their time worrying about their family’s finances.
SMFA says mothers are not only managing their own recovery, they are also supporting children who were themselves victim/survivors, a burden of unpaid work that is “largely invisible to government policy and family violence services”.
SMFA is calling for measures including a $23,000 safety supplement paid in instalments via Family Tax Benefit A for women who have experienced IPV, a significant reform of the child support system, which allows perpetrators to continue abuse after separation, and an increase in the amount and duration of parenting payments.
One mother told the survey: “Fleeing domestic violence can leave you financially crippled, and systems can make it worse. It takes over a decade to build back up from nothing. Parents who care for children deserve a living wage and superannuation top-ups.”
David Pocock renews call for Israel sanctions after hospital strike
Senator David Pocock has renewed his call for sanctions against Israel after the country’s latest attack on a hospital, a “double tap” strike that our correspondent in the region says bears many of the hallmarks of a war crime.
Pocock wrote on X:
Attacking health infrastructure, killing journalists, starving children – how many more flagrant breaches of international law will governments tolerate before sanctioning PM Netanyahu and stopping trade with Israel?
MP with autistic daughter reveals fear over NDIS changes
As the Albanese government tries to curb the cost of the NDIS, a Coalition MP and father of an autistic child has spoken out about how he was in “two minds” about the reform, Australian Associated Press reports.
Parents reacted with shock when the federal government announced last week a new scheme called Thriving Kids to serve as a cheaper alternative to the $44bn NDIS.
Phil Thompson, the MP for Herbert, said “it pains me to my heart” that families feel like their children are an inconvenient dollar figure on a government’s budget bottom line.
I know that reform is needed. I get that. I understand it, but it must be done in a way where participants aren’t waking up in the morning finding out that things have changed.
The Coalition’s assistant NDIS spokesperson is the father of Emery, a five-year-old with autism.
“Changes that get made quickly, changes that get made without consultation or minimal consultation, terrifies me as a father, terrifies me for my daughter’s future,” Thompson said.
I’m not the only person in this parliament or this country that is looking at the changes to the NDIS with lots of fear.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has warned the states and territories could lose billions of dollars in extra funding for hospitals over five years if they failed to back his government’s plan.
Thriving Kids will be rolled out from July 2026 and be fully implemented by July 2027.
Labor to invest $30m in trade skills teaching
Patrick Commins
The Albanese government will invest $30m to lift the number of electrical and construction teachers in the VET system, the minister for skills and training, Andrew Giles, says.
Giles, in a speech to be delivered to the National Press Club later today, will say that “equally valuing VET’ will be one of three priorities in this term of government.
“Nine out of 10 new jobs will require some form of tertiary education, approximately half VET and half higher education,” he will say.
“We will only achieve the national goal of four in five Australians holding a Tafe qualification or a university degree if we break down that artificial barrier between vocational and higher education.”
Giles will say another priority in this term of government will be promoting lifelong learning, a key area identified by participants at the recent economic reform roundtable.
“It’s the concept that knits together how we should be thinking about supporting people to navigate a changing world, on their terms.
“In the context of generative AI, and indeed more generally, we are witnessing changes in demand for skills and [we] should anticipate this accelerating.”
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories before Krishani Dhanji takes the controls.
The skills minister, Andrew Giles, will tell the National Press Club today that the Albanese government is planning to invest $30m to lift the number of people who teach electrical and construction skills in the VET system. He will also flag the government’s plans to promote more lifelong learning. More details in a moment.
As the Albanese government tries to find ways to curb the cost of the $44bn-a-year NDIS, a Liberal politician and father of an autistic child said he was in “two minds” about the changes and that it “pains him that families feel their children are ‘inconvenient’”.
