LABOR’S PRODUCTIVITY PROMISES COLLAPSE UNDER SCRUTINY
9 Feb | '2026
ANGIE BELL MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
SHADOW MINISTER FOR YOUTH
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MONCRIEFF
MEDIA STATEMENT
9 February 2026
LABOR’S PRODUCTIVITY PROMISES COLLAPSE UNDER SCRUTINY
Australians were promised faster approvals, higher productivity and stronger economic growth under Labor’s new environmental laws. Instead, Senate Estimates has exposed a government with no evidence, no timelines and no delivery.
When Labor pushed through its Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) reforms, the Prime Minister claimed environmental approvals would be cut from years to months, and from months to weeks. These claims were presented as a central pillar of Labor’s productivity agenda.
But when asked at Senate Estimates how many businesses would move their projects from the existing approvals system into Labor’s new so-called ‘streamlined’ pathways, the answer was simple and damning – not one.
The government could not identify a single business that has said it would switch systems or benefit from faster approvals under Labor’s laws.
That failure strikes at the heart of Labor’s credibility on productivity.
Senate Estimates has also showcased Labor’s atrocious treatment of the gas industry – an industry the government’s own senior ministers openly acknowledge is essential.
The Energy Minister has stated that “gas has an important role to play in our energy system” and that “the role of Australian gas in the economy remains essential to industry.”
Despite this, Senate Estimates revealed the Environment Minister has deliberately excluded gas projects from accessing streamlined approval pathways and did so without consulting the Energy Minister or Resources Minister.
This is a government pulling in opposite directions – talking up productivity, energy security and affordability with one hand, while quietly choking off gas development with the other.
After four years in office, Australians are entitled to ask a simple question – what are we actually getting for all the headlines, announcements and spending?
Australians deserve transparency about how their money is being spent, how decisions are being made, and when – if ever – this government will deliver upon its promises.
Senate Estimates has once again laid bare Labor’s familiar pattern of over-promising and under-delivering.
ENDS