Minister for Environment Murray Watt speaks on Environmental Reforms at Press Conference

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Transcript

00:00Well, thanks very much, Don. It's a real pleasure to be in your electorate at last here in Bunbury,

00:07my first trip to Bunbury, but I know you've been standing up for this community for a very long time.

00:12Don and I first got to know each other when we were both fisheries ministers in previous lives,

00:16so we've become good mates, and it's a real great pleasure to be in your electorate today, Don.

00:21Can I thank Stan, the whole team at ACWEST, all of the councillors we have here,

00:25and in particular the workers on this project, for the fantastic work that you're doing

00:29to provide Bunbury and the region with recycled water to make sure that the region's water security

00:36is met into the future in the face of climate change and a growing population.

00:41As Don has mentioned, the reality is that in these parts of Western Australia

00:46we are seeing the reality of climate change in the form of drying climates,

00:51and we need to be making investments as governments to ensure that these kinds of growing regions

00:56continue to have the water supply and water security that they need for the future in the face of climate change.

01:04You would have seen over the last couple of weeks, yet again,

01:07we've seen the Coalition federally argue about whether climate change is real.

01:12We're getting on with the job working with the Cook government to deliver the kind of water infrastructure

01:17that is needed for the reality of climate change, not worrying about whether it's real,

01:21but actually adapting and adjusting to the reality that we all face with climate change.

01:26This project is being funded jointly by the Albanese and Cook governments with an investment of $25 million each.

01:33And today I can also announce some further investments in water security jointly by the Albanese and Cook governments.

01:41Today we're also announcing over $3 million in new funding for two projects to use science

01:48and improve climate resilience and water security in regional and remote areas of Western Australia.

01:54That includes an investment of $2.7 million in the WaterSmart Wheatbelt project

02:00to improve water security in the Wheatbelt and the Great Southern regions.

02:05Also an investment of nearly $500,000 in new technology to support water supply and water security

02:13in remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia that currently suffer from very poor water quality standards.

02:20So they're the kind of investments that we're making jointly with the Cook government

02:24to ensure that Western Australians do have the water security that they need as part of our plan more broadly

02:30to deal with the reality of climate change, not to pretend it's not happening,

02:35not to argue about whether net zero is necessary or not,

02:38but just to accept the science and the lived reality of Western Australians

02:42who are facing climate change every day.

02:45We're getting on with the job of making the investments that are needed

02:47and we'll leave the political bickering to others.

02:49Happy to take any questions.

02:50Now, Steve, you've expressed concern that the climate bickering within the Liberal Party

02:54could impact their EPBC position if the Coalition doesn't play ball.

03:00Do the Greens have you over a barrel or are you prepared to walk away from the legislation altogether?

03:05I've said from the moment I took on this portfolio a few months ago

03:09that we are prepared to pass reforms to our national environment laws

03:13with either the Coalition or the Greens.

03:15We have made very clear, and I want to make it again very clear,

03:19we will be passing these reforms next week in the final sitting week of the year.

03:24And it's now up to the Coalition and the Greens to decide

03:27whether they want to be part of that or not,

03:29or whether they want to see us do a deal with the other side of politics.

03:32For those who are concerned about whether the Coalition will do a deal with us or not,

03:37they need to speak to the Coalition and remind them

03:40that it's time to focus on the needs of Australia, including environmental law reform,

03:45rather than focusing on who's going to be the next leader of the Liberal Party.

03:48We have seen nothing from the Liberal Party since the last election

03:52apart from constant infighting and jockeying

03:55to determine who is going to be the next leader of the Liberal Party.

03:58Australians want us to focus on their needs, not our own needs as politicians.

04:03So there's a really big opportunity here for the Coalition

04:06to just for one week put aside their leadership turmoil

04:10and to focus on the real benefits that will come from these reforms.

04:14You may have seen it reported today that Western Australia is lagging the rest of the country

04:20when it comes to on-time approvals under the EPBC legislation as it currently stands.

04:25So there is every reason for the Coalition to be supporting these reforms

04:30because one of the key aims of them is to speed up the approvals processes

04:34and remove the duplication that we see between the states and the federal governments.

04:38So it's time for the Coalition to focus, put aside the leadership turmoil for a week

04:42and think about what Australians need and get those approval systems moving

04:46while also of course protecting our environment.

04:48So you are then prepared to cede ground to the Greens and potentially a climate trigger

04:52knowing that that will risk your relationship and support of WA industry?

04:56Well again, what I've said is that we are open to passing these reforms

05:00with either the Coalition or the Greens.

05:02I made clear a few weeks ago that we would not be including a climate trigger in this legislation

05:06and that is not negotiable.

05:08But it's up to the Coalition and the Greens now to think about

05:12what sort of reforms the country needs rather than their own grandstanding.

05:16The Coalition are focused on their own infighting.

05:18We've got the Greens who have a history of blocking reform

05:21even when it's positive reform for the country.

05:23They both need to focus for the next week

05:26on making sure that we can deliver a balanced set of reforms

05:29that deliver for both the environment and for business.

05:31Are you willing to make changes to the laws that business want

05:34to clarify the role of the EPA and to allow for appeals to stop work orders?

05:40Look, it's premature for me to be committing to particular amendments

05:44that we're prepared to make.

05:45But I have said for some time now that I'm a realist

05:48when it comes to getting legislation through the Senate.

05:50I recognise that we will need to make some amendments to the legislation

05:55as we've introduced it to get it through the Senate.

05:57And so what we need from both the Coalition and the Greens

06:00is for them to come to a landing on exactly what amendments they would be seeking.

06:04And of course we will then weigh that up.

06:06So I'm not going to be ruling in or ruling out particular amendments

06:09but what I will say is that we want the reforms that make it through the Parliament

06:14to deliver wins for both the environment and for business.

06:17It's not about just doing it for the environment or just doing it for business.

06:20It's got to do both.

06:21If you go back to look at Graham Samuel's review five years ago,

06:24that was the kind of balance package that he put forward.

06:27He recognised that what the country needed was reforms that delivered wins

06:31for both the environment and for business.

06:33We think the bill that we've introduced to the Parliament

06:36and has now passed the House of Representatives does that.

06:38If other people have got other ideas, they need to tell us what they are

06:41so that we can work that out over the next week.

06:43The concerns raised by Roger Cook about multiple definitions of adverse environmental effects,

06:48have they been resolved?

06:50So I think probably what you're specifically referring to

06:53is the point about the definition of what's an unacceptable impact on the environment.

06:57And just so you understand the background to that,

07:00currently one of the problems with the existing legislation

07:04is that it does give a minister or department power to reject a project

07:08that is, inverted commas, clearly unacceptable.

07:11But there's no definition of what clearly unacceptable is in the legislation.

07:15And it makes it very difficult for decision makers to work that out,

07:18but it also undermines business certainty to understand what sort of answer they're likely to get.

07:23We are trying to fix that in this legislation by including a definition

07:28of what would be an unacceptable impact on the environment,

07:31which would mean that that project would get rejected.

07:34So it obviously protects the environment from the worst kind of developments,

07:37but it also gives business certainty about what kind of answer they can expect

07:41for a particular project.

07:43Again, I'm not ruling in particular amendments or ruling them out.

07:47We are open to talking to the Coalition about the sort of amendments they're seeking.

07:51We're open to speaking with the Greens about the sort of amendments that they're seeking.

07:55And what we want to make sure of at the end of this

07:57is that we have that balanced set of reforms that deliver for both the environment and for business.

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