Topics: Government shut down of debate on Tony Abbott 2.0 environmental law changes; Queensland borders; Recession

Labor will oppose the Morrison Government’s attempt to rehash Tony Abbott’s failed 2014 environment bill, which would harm Australia’s natural environment and put jobs and investment at risk. 

The Morrison Government has introduced an environment bill which is a rehash of Tony Abbott’s failed 2014 approach putting the environment, jobs and investment at risk. 
 
The Samuel Review is the most significant opportunity for reform in the last 20 years – the Government must get it right.

In a startling turn around from his last report the Morrison Government’s Reef Envoy, Warren Entsch, has confirmed his Government’s inadequate climate policies are focused on politics not the health and protection of the Great Barrier Reef, nor the 64,000 jobs and 6.4 billion dollars in income reliant on the Reef.

SUBJECTS: EPBC Act Review Interim Report.
LEON DELANEY, HOST: Well, yesterday the much anticipated interim report of the Graeme Samuel review of Australia's environmental laws was released. Yesterday I spoke with Kelly O'Shanassy, the CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation. The interim report finds that our protection, our environmental protection laws are outdated, inefficient and too weak. One of the key recommendations of the report is that there should be an independent watchdog body set up. That seems to be a recommendation that the federal government has already rejected. Joining me now the Shadow Environment Minister Terri Butler. Good afternoon.

Well, we're here today because there has been some revelations that the government has had some massive failures both in relation to both the environment and jobs. The fact is Australia is in a jobs crisis and we're in an environment crisis and the Morrison Government is failing Australians when it comes to both. We now have a situation where, under this government, we've seen 40% of the environment department funding cut, and we've seen revelations recently that this has meant things like 510% increase in delays in environmental approvals. A situation wherein in the 2018-19 financial year, 95% of key environmental decisions were being made late. These things are a real problem. They are a problem for the environment and they're a problem for jobs. When we're in an environmental crisis and a jobs crisis, we need a government that will act on both, but instead we have a government that is failing in relation to both.