The
announcement yesterday of proposed changes to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to
repeal a section of the Act that allows green groups to mount legal challenges
to environmental approvals is all about the government not accepting the
umpire’s decision. This is following the Federal Court forcing the Government
to reconsider its approval of Adani's $16 billion Carmichael coal mine because
Environment Minister Greg Hunt had not properly considered the impacts on the
yakka skink and ornamental snake.
The Mackay Conservation Group launched its legal challenge in the
Federal Court in January, alleging that greenhouse gas emissions from the mine,
vulnerable species and Adani's environmental track record had not been taken
into account. "The Minister conceded that he had made an error and Adani
did as well that the proper process hadn't been followed in approving the
Carmichael mine. He is required to take advice from his
department on threatened species into account and he didn't do that,” Mackay Conservation Group coordinator Ellen Roberts said.
Rather than seeing a failure in the Minister’s lack of due
diligence, the Government has decided to shoot the messenger.
The
Government's claims the EPBC Act is costing jobs is not borne out by the facts.
Since being passed by the Howard Government 15 years ago, the EPBC Act has been
the overriding national environmental protection law, including throughout the
mining boom – and environmental groups are required to operate within this law.
Very
few projects are legally challenged, and hardly any have been stopped. Adani
has not been stopped, it has simply been required to comply with the law, as it
should be.
Labor will not support weakening environmental protections or limiting a community's right to challenge Government decisions.
No comments:
Post a Comment