Transcript – DOORSTOP INTERVIEW

Angie Bell MP

Shadow Minister for the Environment

Shadow Minister for Youth

Federal Member for Moncrieff

TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA

26 August 2025

Subjects: EPBC reform.

E&OE…………………………………………………………………………………………………

ANGIE BELL:

What we have seen to date is three years of failure to reform the EPBC Act under a Labor Albanese government. We have seen three years of failure and delay with a foot on the brake when it comes to reforming the EPBC Act. And now, what we’re hearing is that the government is on a fast train to reforming the EPBC Act. What I will say about that is that this government has had plenty of time to decide on an update to the EPBC Act and reform it, and it has failed categorically.

What I will also say, and I have said on record, is that my door is absolutely open to the Minister in terms of detail around what he intends to do with the reform that is underway. I want to make sure that stakeholders are thoroughly engaged during this process, and I would love to meet again with the Minister. I met with him once to discuss this moving forward, but let’s see what the government brings forward in terms of what they consider will be acceptable to all of the stakeholders.

We really want to work with the government on this, because it’s too important to get this reform wrong. It is well overdue, and the government has had time on its hands to actually reform this Act, and we know that through the nature positive laws in the last term, it has failed to do so. And so now, we’re in a situation where these reforms are going to be fast tracked after the government’s roundtable, but we don’t know the detail. We haven’t heard the detail. We haven’t been asked for another meeting on the detail, so I will scrutinise very closely what the government brings forward when they do that. Now we need to make sure that we strike a balance with the EPBC Act reforms.

We need to make sure that we protect our beautiful environment in Australia. We know that it is degrading, but we also want to make sure that we instill confidence in investment in our country, and we want to make sure that we preserve jobs and that we do have industry moving forward as we transition. This is so very, very important. My door is open, and we’ll have a look at what the government brings forward.

JOURNALIST:

Angie, Minister Watt has talked about wanting to build as much support as he can from industry and environmental groups as a way of demonstrating to the Coalition and the Greens that the sector wants these. Do you accept that if industry comes and says to you, we want these reforms, would that be the course of the Coalition to take?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, look, industry does want reforms to the EPBC Act. All of the stakeholders that I have met with actually want to improve the performance of the environment, whilst also conducting their industry that they undertake. This is so very important, and the two can co-exist together. This is something that the Minister and I do agree on, and that they are not mutually exclusive. Industry can exist alongside environmental protections that need to be stronger as well, and they want to be a part of that, but what they need is certainty moving forward, and of course, they need to be consulted along the way.

JOURNALIST:

Does ministerial discretion need to be retained for the Coalition to support any reform to the EPBC?

ANGIE BELL:

Ministerial discretion is part of the Westminster system, and stakeholders that I’m meeting with are saying to me that they want to make sure that the Minister is responsible for those environmental approvals, and that does remain with the Minister. We do have a Westminster model here in Australia, where the Minister is held accountable for those decisions, and certainly we want to make sure that the Minister is held accountable for his decisions.

JOURNALIST:

So how could that work? If the Samuel review talks about devolving approvals to the states based on national standards, would that work, that the federal minister could intervene on any of those approval processes?

ANGIE BELL:

We’ll see what the Minister brings forward, what he is putting forward to stakeholders, and what he’s putting forward to the Coalition and others here, and we’ll have a good look at that when it comes forward to see where that sits.

JOURNALIST:

Angie, the previous minister, had reached agreement with the Greens on previous environmental reforms. Is there not an impetus for the Coalition to get on board and to engage thoughtfully with the government here, rather than see a process that the Greens have approved to get through. And you know, more broader than that, what are the sticking points for you at this stage of what you know?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, the Coalition engaged in good faith with the government, with the Minister who I have met with on EPBC reform, and so we are willing to come to the table and talk about what the reform will look like. We want to make sure that we strike a balance between conserving our environment but also making sure there is certainty for industry moving forward and investment and jobs in our country. And in our, of course, mining industries and others moving forward. And so, we are willing, in a bipartisan way, to move forward with EPBC reform, because it’s too important to get wrong.

JOURNALIST:

Do you support the broad principles of the Samuel review?

ANGIE BELL:

Absolutely support the broad principles of the Samuel review. It was put in place under Sussan Ley when she was the Environment Minister, and there are some very good recommendations in that review around environmental standards and also other legislative reforms that need to be undertaken.

JOURNALIST:

Just very quickly, Angie, on EPA. ou know, we’ve heard from BCA and others last week, they are open to it as long as Minister has final say. Murray is still consulting. But are you saying that you are also open to an EPA as long as Minister has final say on it?

ANGIE BELL:

I’ve said my door is open, and I would like to see the detail before I commit to supporting one thing or another, we haven’t seen any detail from the Minister at this point in time, and so we’ll review that, as we do, through the usual processes, through our party room process and through the Shadow Cabinet process.

ENDS.