WATT’S UNBALANCED REFORM A BACKWARDS STEP FOR PRODUCTIVITY

ANGIE BELL MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

SHADOW MINISTER FOR YOUTH

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MONCRIEFF

MEDIA RELEASE

29 October 2025

WATT’S UNBALANCED REFORM A BACKWARDS STEP FOR PRODUCTIVITY

After entering good faith negotiations ahead of Labor’s second attempt at Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act reform, the Coalition was cautiously optimistic.

Now, following the drip feeding of scarce details by the Environment Minister and his department, the Coalition is frustrated – as are industry groups, businesses, advocates and environmentalists – that this Government, after two attempts, is yet to get the balance right.

Shadow Minister for the Environment and Youth, Angie Bell has called on the government to immediately regulate ‘unacceptable impacts’, provide certainty on the definition of ‘net gain’ whilst removing scope one and two emission reporting and cleaning up Labor’s “sad excuse” of an Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

“The current draft extracts that we’ve seen paint a very grim picture for jobs, investment and productivity in our country,” Ms Bell said.

“There are several pages of unacceptable impacts that need to be removed with an overarching, broad definition firmed up to remove that grey area because in its current state, allows for individual interpretation.

“Instead, we want unacceptable impacts to form part of the environmental standards that sit outside of the legislation as per the Graeme Samuel Review.”

Further details have emerged pertaining to the structure and powers of the EPA along with the statutory appointment of a CEO with a clear lack of expectations.

“The CEO of the EPA will not be accountable to the Minister, with no official statement of expectations required, with any direction from the Minister being non-binding and the CEO only dismissible by the Governor General,” Ms Bell.

“All this from a government that claims to want to speed up approvals and get productivity moving in our country – an EPA will do neither.

“It’s a sad excuse of an authority that only serves to add further bureaucracy and tie industry up in unnecessary red and green tape.”

The Coalition also has significant concerns about the definition of net gain with Shadow Minister for the Environment and Youth, Angie Bell labelling it, “a Tanya Plibersek nature positive rebrand.”

“The definition of net gain absolutely needs greater clarity with guard rails in place to ensure certainty for industry and the environment,” Ms Bell said.

“In its current form, it is completely unworkable and our stakeholders across the spectrum of industry and environment agree.”

The Coalition remains committed to achieving a balanced outcome for jobs, productivity and the environment because the draft extracts that have been put forward are worse than the current outdated laws.

[ENDS]