New legal advice shows the government’s proposed legislation to favour the salmon industry is so poorly drafted it may not even capture salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour. But it could stop communities from challenging other decisions – like coal mines or gas projects.

The Guardian has reported on that here.

Section 78 of the Act will prevent the ability to revoke ‘not controlled action – particular manner’ decisions i.e. an action is not a ‘controlled action’ requiring full environmental assessment as long as it meets specific criteria.

The three criteria are:

1.     The action is under a state or territory management arrangement

2.     That its an action that’s already underway

3.     That it is an ongoing or recurring action and that five years have passed (since the action was ongoing or recurring)

The legislation is retrospective. 

Eloise Carr, director of the Australia Institute Tasmania says:

“This legislation creates a loophole you could drive a truck through. The definition of management arrangements in the EPBC Act is notoriously poor”

“This is terrible policy but the legislation is so poorly drafted it may not even achieve what the major parties want – to allow salmon farming to continue destroying world heritage.

Go grab what you need to get through what will be the third last question time of this parliament.

You know who has been largely absent today? Peter Dutton. He’s been no where to be seen in the media this morning. Let’s see if that continues throughout question time.

Question time is about 20 minutes away, which means it is time for the MP airing of the grievances (also known as 90-second statements) and the Labor MP for Adelaide, Steven Georganas makes note that it is Greek Independence Day.

He speaks about the Greek uprising against the Ottoman Empire to reclaim sovereignty. This is celebrated, as it should be.

“On this day in 1821, the Greek people rose against the Ottoman Empire, fighting for their independence after four centuries of oppression. But this struggle was not merely about reclaiming a nation. It was about restoring the ideals of democracy, ideals first forged in ancient Greece. The Greek revolutionaries were inspired by the enlightenment and the fundamental belief that people should govern themselves free from tyranny.”

But it shows in stark contrast, how he world treats the people of Palestine, as they strive for the same independence, the same sovereignty from Israel. Now we call it terrorism, no matter what the occupying power does to a civilian population.

Dipping over to the Greatest Nation on Earth for a moment – as expected, the LNP has announced that yes, Victoria Park will be the site of a new stadium for the Olympics, despite it being a significant Indigenous heritage site.

The private sector will be invited to make offers on a Brisbane arena special area (what could go wrong) and the rowing will be in Rockhampton. One of the crocodile capitals of Queensland. The Fitzroy is so well known as a crocodile hotspot in Queensland, that during the 2015 election campaign, there was an electoral battle between Labor and the LNP over which government had caught the most crocodiles.

There are protesters outside the announcement.

And there is this ad.

Tanya Plibersek says she is “please to commend” the bill to the house.

Factcheck: we don’t think that is true.

And we do not make it a rule to comment on what anyone is wearing, but it is unfortunate that Plibersek is wearing what looks on the broadcast to be a salmon coloured suit as she introduces this bill which will allow the foreign-owned salmon industry to continue salmon farming in the World Heritage Macquarie Harbour, despite the science and research saying that will lead to the extinction of the Maugean Skate.

It’s also important to note that salmon are only this colour once they are cooked.

Tanya Plibersek is being made to introduce this bill as the press gallery is being locked up for the budget.

So they have all just been made to hand over their phones. There is a skeleton crew still watching parliament (hi guys!) but most of the gallery is locked up and they will be locked up while the ‘debate’ for this happens in the house.

And then tomorrow, it will be wall to wall budget response as they laws are pushed through the senate (maybe – there seems to be some mischief afoot).

Having introduced the bill, that will take away her power from reconsidering industry project decisions after five years (so if you discover that a project is going to lead to the extinction of a dinosaur fish that only lives in that one area too bad!) Tanya Plibersek then goes through the things the government has done when it comes to the environment:

So far, we have protected an extra 100 million hectares of Australian ocean and bush, an area the size of Germany, Italy and Norway combined.

And in the budget tonight, we’ll also be committing an additional $250 million to protect an additional area of Australia’s land mass around the size of New Zealand, which would take us to 30% of Australia’s land mass protected by 2030 a commitment that we were pleased to make in Montreal at the global biodiversity conference.

We’ve quadrupled the size of Heard Island and McDonald Island marine parks. That was the biggest active ocean conservation anywhere in the world in 2024 we’ve tripled the size of Macquarie Island Marine Park. That was the biggest act of Environmental Conservation anywhere in the world in 2023 and we’ve doubled funding to better look after our national parks, including Kakadu and Uluru. We are progressing World Heritage listing for more of Australia’s most special places, including places like Cape, York, the Flinders Ranges and Murad in Western Australia, which is the site of 50,000 year old Bucha.

We’ve stopped Jabiluka from being mined from uranium, and we’re looking forward to adding it to Kakadu National Park. Instead, we’ve saved Toondah harbor in Queensland from destruction, including the protection of internationally important wetlands, which provide an important stock for migratory bird species.

We’re investing $1.3 billion to support the successful Indigenous Rangers program, including doubling the number of Indigenous Rangers, who are doing an absolutely magnificent job on managing feral animals, getting rid of weeds, and managing fire risks, particularly in Indigenous Protected areas, and we’ve expanded those Indigenous Protected Areas with a $230 million investment.

We’re establishing 12 new Indigenous Protected areas that will cover an area larger than Tasmania. And the important thing about these new IPAs, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is they’re not all central desert. They’re in all sorts of landscapes, including very biodiverse regions on the north coast of New South Wales, which are underrepresented in our national reserve system. We’re investing more than half a billion dollars to better protect threatening plants and animals, and tackle the feral animals and weeds that are killing our native species….”

It goes on. But you know what is happening here. And all of these things are worthy and important and deserve praise, but it is also true that governments can still do shit things, even as they do some good things.

That is what is happening here. These laws are not good for the environment.

Tanya Plibersek, who looks furious as she reads her speech continues:

“The bill recognises that established and lawfully operating an established and lawfully operating project where proponents did the right thing and referred their action to the environment minister, and which have been investing and operating for five years or more on the basis of that decision should not be put at risk, the bill would only capture a very small subset of decisions that can be reconsidered and that they are in that category, not controlled action if undertaken in a particular manner or EBPC decisions. These decisions are made when the minister decides that an action does not require approval because the action would be undertaken in the particular manner described. The bill would also recognise the important role that states and territories play in managing environmental impacts through their own plans, policies and laws, the amendment specifies that a project must have a state or territory management arrangement specified in that particular manners that meet to meet the criteria.

The Australian Government is committed to working in partnership with industry, communities and states and territories to protect our environment and support the conservation and recovery of our threatened species.”

We are getting reports that police have started to arrest and remove people protesting salmon farming and the environmental protection legislation changes the government is trying to ram through the parliament, in the parliament foyer.

We’re just confirming if that is happening now.