NFF supports reforms that deliver environmental protections, faster and efficient approval processes, and more transparency and integrity around environmental decision-making. We do not support the passage of legislation as currently drafted. Several amendments are required to ensure that reforms deliver better outcomes for business and achieve overarching EPBC Act objectives to protect the environment and promote Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). These are outlined in the proceeding items below.
For the agricultural sector, the EPBC Act is much more about continuing-use provisions than it about assessments. For the former, agriculture needs to be confident that obligations imposed are well articulated and accessible. Unreliable mapping, the differentiation of potential or critical habitat, or how the listing of a species and its subordinate threat abatement strategies are resolved and communicated are all of concern.
The NFF’s full submission can be found here.
Stacey Davidson