In an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Catholic Religious Australia has expressed deep concern about changes to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
These changes remove the right for third parties to request a review of project approvals when new information about environmental harm emerges.
The Albanese Government introduced this amendment on Wednesday night to prevent a review by the federal Environment Minister of a previous approval for the Tasmanian salmon industry to expand into Macquarie Harbour, given evidence that the industry’s activities are critically endangering the Maugean Skate fish species.
“We understand that the farmed salmon industry is a source of employment for local communities,” CRA President Br Gerard Brady said.
“At the same time, these changes to our nature laws risk preventing not only a review of the approval given to the Tasmanian salmon industry, but also future reviews of other destructive projects, for example new coal and gas projects. This is not acceptable,”
“Pope Francis has emphasised the need for an “ecological economy,” in which protection of the environment is integral to development activities. A proper review process of development approvals is integral to that.”
The EPBC Act underwent its second independent review in 2020, which found that the Act is not fit to address current or future environmental challenges, requiring “fundamental reform” to reverse the current state of environmental decline.
CRA national executive director Anne Walker said the “amendment can only be seen as a backwards step that will weaken our key piece of environmental legislation”.
CRA also called for further safeguards to be added to the EPBC Act.
“It is also concerning that our national environment law currently does not mention climate change,” Ms Walker said.
“In response to the climate crisis, the EPBC Act should include mandated consideration of climate risk when undertaking environmental assessments for new projects.”
Read CRA’s Open Letter.
FULL STORY
CRA expresses deep concern at the Federal Government’s Weakening of our Nature Laws (CRA)
