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SYDNEY, Tuesday 16 April 2024 — Greenpeace Australia Pacific has referred to as on the federal authorities to urgently again up the institution of the brand new environmental safety company, Setting Safety Australia (EPA), with the promised overhaul of Australia’s damaged nationwide nature legislation.
Setting Minister Tanya Plibersek immediately introduced that the federal authorities will set up two new businesses – the EPA and Environmental Data Australia – as a matter of precedence, however failed to offer clear timelines on the larger promise to ship a brand new and vastly improved nationwide nature legislation.
The federal authorities dedicated to doing so this time period in its Nature Constructive Plan.
Glenn Walker, Head of Nature at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, mentioned that within the face of a biodiversity and local weather disaster, there was no time to lose in delivering a full and complete bundle of reforms.
“Each single second, a local animal is killed from deforestation in Australia. Tens of hundreds of hectares of koala habitat is bulldozed with out environmental evaluation annually. Weak legal guidelines and authorities inaction have made Australia a world chief in deforestation and biodiversity destruction.
“The state of affairs is pressing — there may be merely no time to lose to avoid wasting our forests and wildlife from the brink of extinction.
“We welcome the institution of the brand new, correctly resourced and impartial EPA and particularly the Minister’s dedication to deal with rampant unlawful deforestation. However the EPA is not going to have the tooth it wants till a robust nationwide nature legislation additionally comes into place — forest destruction may solely be handled substantively with these legislative adjustments.
“Additionally it is important that the EPA is given powers to evaluate and reject giant coal and gasoline initiatives the place the local weather impacts on nature are assessed as important. Following the most popular 12 months on file, it’s utterly untenable that the prevailing nature legislation fails to permit this — one more reason why it’s important that the federal government will get on with the job of introducing the brand new nature legislation into parliament as quickly as potential.
“What the federal government has introduced immediately is a bit like a pub with out beer — whereas the brand new establishments are welcome and necessary components of the reform wanted, the job is simply completed when a robust and bold nature legislation is in place and environmental destruction is stopped.”
The announcement comes following affirmation immediately that the world is experiencing its fourth world coral bleaching occasion — the second within the final 10 years — with the Nice Barrier Reef at present impacted by extreme bleaching.
—ENDS—
Excessive res photos and pictures of current deforestation may be discovered right here and right here
Media contacts
Kimberley Bernard on 0407 581 404 or [email protected]
Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or [email protected]
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