Elizabeth Watson-Brown, Member for Ryan:

Prime Minister, your proposed EPBC (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation) changes have received support from Chevron, BHP and the Minerals Council but have been widely criticised by environment NGOs like the Australian Conservation Foundation as failing to protect nature and the planet. Why has Labor prioritised the interests of big corporations over people and nature?

Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister:

The truth is our environment laws aren’t working. There’s a very broad consensus that that is the case and we are working to get it right. Because they’re not working for business and they’re not working for the environment. Approvals take too long, processes lack certainty and need to be streamlined. These are laws that were drafted in the Howard era for the Howard era, and are just not fit for purpose. We believe that the laws that are before the Parliament are balanced. They will help to grow the economy but they’ll also help to make sure that future generations of Australians get to enjoy to benefits of our unique environment. The author of the report that was commissioned by the former government, Graham Samuel, has come out very clearly, very clearly, and said that the laws that have been put forward are consistent with Graham Samuel’s review. I’m not quite sure that the member is being fair dinkum with the quote that is she says of the group that is are supporting this legislation to be honest. What we need to do is to not play these games which led to nothing being carried during the last term of a ‘noalition’, people saying they’re against it. They sat in the Parliament for a long period of time. And were up there in the Senate waiting for them to be carried.