The Nature Positive Plan: better for the environment, better for business 2022 is the government’s response to the outcome of the Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) (the review) and the State of the Environment Report. The document is organised and guided by three fundamental principles: Better environment and heritage outcomes; Faster, better decision-making and clear priorities; Accountability and trust. To better protect Australia’s environment and heritage and prevent further extinction of native plants and animals the document focuses on: 1) National Environmental Standards - National Environmental Standards will set out the environmental outcomes that our laws are seeking to achieve. The establishment of standards will underpin our environmental law reforms. The initial standards for development will be: Matters of National Environmental Significance; First Nations engagement and participation in decision-making; community engagement and consultation; regional planning; environmental offsets. 2) The government will remove overly prescriptive processes and duplication in conservation and management planning for species, communities and, where relevant, heritage. Conservation planning documents will identify and prioritise the threats, actions and important habitat for threatened species and ecological communities; 3) First Nation partnerships; 4) Development proponent required to publish expected Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The changing climate will also be a mandatory consideration in environmental planning approaches; 5) The existing water trigger will be expanded to include all forms of unconventional gas (e.g. shale and tight gas); 6) The Government will pursue a uniform national approach and make regulatory requirements and codes consistent by harmonising requirements under national environmental law with the radiation management standards of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. To achieve faster, better decision-making and clear priorities the Plan envisages; 1) States and territories will be able to apply to become accredited under national environmental law to allow for single-touch decision-making; 2) Regional plans can speed up decision-making while delivering nature positive outcomes at a landscape scale. Regional plans will be built around a three-level traffic light map, designed to pre-identify areas for protection, restoration and sustainable development, regional plans will be required to deliver outcomes set in the standard for Matters of National Environmental Significance; 3) The government will reform offset arrangements to ensure they deliver gains for the environment and reduce delays for project proponents. A National Environmental Standard for environmental offsets will be made under law to provide certainty and confidence in its application; 4) The government will introduce legislation to underpin the nature repair market. This will establish a nationally consistent framework for measuring, monitoring, reporting, verifying and publicly tracking biodiversity projects. Long-term obligations to maintain and manage nature repair projects will apply to participating landholders. This voluntary scheme will operate alongside the carbon market, with both schemes regulated by the Clean Energy Regulator; 5) The Government will work with stakeholders and relevant jurisdictions towards applying National Environmental Standards to Regional Forest Agreements to support their ongoing operation together with stronger environmental protection; 6) In developing the new national environmental law, the government will identify opportunities to further improve and streamline existing processes under the EPBC Act. Accountability and trust objectives encompass initiatives on: 1) The government has committed to establishing an independent EPA to be a tough ‘cop on the beat’. The EPA will be responsible for compliance and enforcement under the new Act, holding proponents to account for their information, decisions and undertakings. This will include the publication of mandatory guidelines to inform the development and submission of environmental, social and economic information in support of applications. The EPA’s regulatory functions will extend to wildlife trade regulation (EPBC Act) and the Sea Dumping, Ozone and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management, Hazardous Waste, Product Emissions Standards, Recycling and Waste Reduction, and Underwater Cultural Heritage Acts. The EPA will be responsible for project assessments, decisions and post-approvals (where these are not undertaken by another accredited decision-maker); 2) The government will establish a Data Division within the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to provide clear authoritative sources of high-quality environmental information; 3) greater transparency and establishing an independent EPA are more effective ways to improve and assure the quality of decision-making; 4) The government and the Director of National Parks have committed to restoring trust and confidence in the management of jointly managed Commonwealth National Parks, including providing Traditional Owners with more control over the management of their Country.
Australia · 2022-12-01