Andrew Wilkie has welcomed the chance to address forestry exemptions in the environment bill the Greens negotiated on with the government:

I welcome the changes to the Federal Government’s environmental law reforms. I voted against the reforms in the House of Representatives because, as initially drafted, it was clear the Government had forgotten they were supposed to actually stop environmental destruction.

While the amended package is still far from perfect, there is now at least some greater protection for the environment and, of particular importance for Tasmania, for forests specifically.

I’ve long campaigned for the removal of the exemption in the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act for Regional Forest Agreements, as there was never a good excuse for forestry not to meet the same standards as elsewhere. Ruling out expedited approvals for fossil fuel projects is also a welcome step forward.

Of course, I’d much prefer the reforms included a genuinely independent Environmental Protection Authority, a proper recognition of climate impacts in the assessment and approval process, and better consultation and engagement standards for First Nations peoples and local communities.

Laws, of course, should not remain stagnant. They should be continually reviewed and improved. So I’ll keep advocating for improvements to ensure our national environmental laws consider climate impacts, provide strong protection for the environment and strong protections from vested interests.