TRANSCRIPT – Sky News First Edition

Angie Bell MP

Shadow Minister for the Environment

Shadow Minister for Youth

Federal Member for Moncrieff

TRANSCRIPT

Sky News First Edition

30 October 2025

Subjects: Labor’s productivity handbrake approach to environmental law reform; PM dines with Trump; Rudd’s no Joe Hockey; Home grown inflation and increased government spending.

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

PETER STEFANOVIC:

Murray Watt will make a second attempt to overhaul Australia’s deadlocked environment laws when the new reforms are introduced to Parliament today. Senator Watt wants to pass the reforms by the end of the year and will say at the press club today, quote, “it’s now or never for a green tape overhaul.” Joining us live from Canberra this morning is the Shadow Environment Minister, Angie Bell. Thanks for your time this morning, Angie. So where are you at today ahead of the bill being introduced later on?

ANGIE BELL:

Great to be with you, Pete, and your viewers this morning. Look, the Bills, the way they are at the moment, we’ve just received all of them yesterday. Seven bills, 1,500 pages, are simply unworkable when it comes to jobs, to investment and to the future of our nation. Now, there are quite a lot of problems with these bills. We’ve gone into good faith negotiations with the government on this, and so we’ve had it sort of drip-fed over a period of time, but we’ve seen the full kit yesterday.

So, what I’ll say about it is it’s problematic the way it is, and the Coalition simply can’t support it the way the bills are at the moment. There’s a problem with the sweeping powers of the EPA and the CEO that is a statutory appointment that does not report to the Minister. We want to see that changed. Look, there’s lots of different problems in this bill. Scope one and two emissions will creep into the EPBC Act. Currently, they’re under the safeguards mechanism where they should be. That’s more duplication when Graeme Samuel said he wanted less duplication. I mean, there are some big problems with this Bill. Unacceptable impacts is another definition in there that we’d like to see taken out and put into a national standard. You know, net gain and the definition around net gain. So, currently the way the bills are, completely unworkable and the Coalition won’t be supporting it at this stage.

PETER STEFANOVIC:

Is there anything that is workable?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, I think, you know, there is some merit in regional plans and that sort of thing. But right now, we’re working through all the detail. We’d like to see, obviously, a Senate Inquiry, which will be the case. Murray Watt wants a short Senate Inquiry, but I think all of the stakeholders around the country deserve time to be able to go through that some 40 hours of reading that it takes to get through the seven bills, to understand them, plug them into the EPBC Act the way they are right now and then move forward.

PETER STEFANOVIC:

It is called an environment Bill, therefore there must be protections for the environment, but is there too much ground that’s being given up to business on this or not?

ANGIE BELL:

Well certainly Graeme Samuel outlined that there should be a balanced bill and this point in time it is not balanced because things would be worse under this bill for investment in our country. It will be a handbrake on proponents on their projects and mining. Could even possibly badly damage the Prime Minister’s critical minerals deal that he’s done with the US President at this point in time, because there are so many restrictions on business.

PETER STEFANOVIC:

The BCA has already shown its frustrations this week. It wants the Coalition’s support for the bill rather than the Greens. Does that put added pressure or incentive on you to be able to work something up with Murray Watt on this?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, I think Australians should be alarmed at the thought that Labor would go to the Greens and do a deal on this because our country would be much worse off. Let’s look at the wealth of our nation and where that wealth has come from. Let’s look at where the money goes from mining into the coffers of state governments and how they then deliver on hospitals and schools around our nation and infrastructure. So, Australians should be alarmed about what Murray Watt is putting up today. We are a long way from doing a deal with Labor on this.

PETER STEFANOVIC:

Okay, so he hopes to get done by the end of the year. Maybe that’s not going to be achieved. achieved. Anyway, Angie, a couple of quick ones before we go to squeeze in here. More broadly, Anthony Albanese, he’s dined with Donald Trump overnight. They appear to be very friendly, just like they were last week in D.C. Are you pleased about that?

ANGIE BELL:

Australians want our Prime Minister to do well when they go overseas and obviously it’s good to see the Prime Minister getting on ok with Donald Trump, finally. But what I will say is Kevin Rudd is no Joe Hockey and Kevin Rudd is no Arthur Sinodinos, who of course got on very well with the US administration. Look, before Joe Hockey went abroad, he was already playing golf with Donald Trump and having cups of tea with Hillary Clinton before they came into the White House. I think, you know, Kevin Rudd’s been on the back foot here. He’s been very slow, but it’s good to see this sort of deal done with the White House.

PETER STEFANOVIC:

Ok, and just a final one here. I mean, we’ve got some competing economies at the moment. the US Fed Reserve has cut its rates today. We’re likely to be going the other way. So, the inflation beast is certainly not tamed. How do you assess the competing economies this morning?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, clearly it’s homegrown inflation, Pete. The government is spending way too much money, 27 per cent of GDP up from 23 per cent. It’s pushing inflation numbers up. And there’s one clear message there, and the government needs to stop spending.

PETER STEFANOVIC:

Ok, Angie Bell, we’ll leave it there. We’re out of time. Thank you. We’ll see you again soon.

ENDS.