The independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), led by Professor Graeme Samuel, resulted in 38 key recommendations aimed at reforming Australia’s environmental laws. Here are the main recommendations:
- National Environmental Standards: Establish legally enforceable national environmental standards to ensure consistent protection across Australia. These standards should be measurable and clearly defined to guide decision-making.
- Independent Regulator: Create an independent compliance and enforcement regulator to oversee the implementation of the EPBC Act, ensuring that decisions are not subject to political influence.
- Bilateral Agreements: Encourage states to take on more responsibility for environmental assessments through bilateral agreements, reducing duplication between federal and state processes.
- Limited Merits Review: Introduce a limited avenue for merits review ‘on the papers’ that would allow stakeholders to challenge decisions without full legal proceedings, focusing on outcomes rather than processes.
- Strengthened Compliance and Enforcement: Increase compliance and enforcement actions under the EPBC Act, with penalties that are commensurate with environmental harm caused.
- Indigenous Knowledge Integration: Promote the use of Indigenous knowledge in environmental management and decision-making processes, recognizing the role of Indigenous peoples in conservation efforts.
- Expansion of Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES): Consider expanding the MNES criteria to include contemporary issues such as climate change impacts, land clearing, and water resources.
- Holistic Environmental Assessment: Ensure that assessments consider cumulative impacts and integrate ecological sustainability principles into decision-making processes.
These recommendations aim to address the shortcomings identified in the EPBC Act, which has been criticized for being outdated and ineffective in protecting Australia’s unique biodiversity and addressing current environmental challenges like climate change[1][2][4].
Sources
[1] Independent review of the EPBC Act: eight key recommendations https://www.allens.com.au/insights-news/insights/2020/07/independent-review-recommends-fundamental-reform-of-archaic-ineffective-epbc-act/
[2] Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act – Explained! – WWF-Australia | Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act – Explained! | WWF Australia https://wwf.org.au/blogs/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-act-explained/
[3] Independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity … https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/legal/independent-review-environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-act-1999
[4] What is the EPBC Act? Australia’s national environment laws explained https://www.acf.org.au/epbc-act-explained
[5] Certification of Final Report of the EPBC Act Review https://oia.pmc.gov.au/published-impact-analyses-and-reports/certification-final-report-epbc-act-review
[6] Independent review of the EPBC Act – Johnson Winter Slattery https://jws.com.au/insights/articles/2020-articles/independent-review-of-the-epbc-act
[7] Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/farm-food-drought/natural-resources/vegetation/apdc-act
[8] Australia’s new nature laws https://www.acf.org.au/australia-nature-laws
