Environment Minister Murray Watt says his biggest priority in his new role is to pass environmental reforms.
“We’ve obviously got a wide agenda when it comes to protecting the environment – circular economy, recycling, reef protection, and a range of other things,” Watt told ABC Radio National this morning.
“But in the background, of course, the very biggest priority is to pass these reforms because I think everyone has identified that the current environmental laws aren’t working.”
Watt cited the review of environmental law by former competition regulator Graeme Samuel, publicly released in 2021.
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“He identified that our current environmental laws weren’t protecting the environment, and they weren’t working for business,” he said.
Watt said the response to his early calls in the new role to environmental, business and mining groups was that they “all agree that we need change”.
He said his job was to build on the work by Tanya Plibersek, who now has the social services portfolio, and to come up with a package that is achievable and can be passed by the Senate.
“I think that the election result did see a strong endorsement of Labor’s approach to environmental protection, which is that we can protect the environment and protect jobs,” Watt said. “That’s what we want to do.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has identified environmental reforms as a priority for his second-term government, including the 2022 election commitment to create a national environmental protection agency (EPA).