Australia’s State and Territory Conservation Councils have raised concerns that the Federal
Budget will undermine protections for world heritage places like Kakadu, the Tasmanian
Wilderness and the Great Barrier Reef, by accelerating a handover of federal environmental
approval powers to state and territory governments, fast-tracking decision-making and
establishing a new “pay to destroy” offsets scheme.

They claim that devolving powers to states and territories amounts to “vacating of the field” by
the federal government and will likely accelerate nature destruction, particularly if very weak
national environmental standards are approved in their current form.

The Federal Budget allocates $153.5 million over four years to progress bilateral agreements
with states and territories that would see decision-making under the newly reformed
Environment Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Act 1999 handed to states and territory
governments, and enhance the use of AI in environmental approvals (Portfolio Budget
Statements, Budget Paper 1.3, page 18).

If bilateral agreements are made, state and territory governments will be able to greenlight
mining, energy, and land clearing projects under federal laws as they impact nationally
significant environmental values like critically endangered species, world heritage areas, and
RAMSAR wetlands.

Conservation Council WA Executive Director, Matt Roberts, said:
“This budget makes massive cuts to nature, and shows that the Albanese Government is
planning to eventually vacate the field when it comes to decision-making under our national
environment laws.”

“We have national environment laws for a reason. The federal government has a responsibility
to keep decision-making powers for destructive projects like the North-West Shelf and Browse
Basin (which threatens to destroy Scott Reef), and in relation world heritage areas like the
Murujuga cultural landscape.”

Environment Centre NT Executive Director Dr Kirsty Howey said:
“This budget creates dangerous conditions for accelerating, rather than stopping, nature
destruction.

“For good reason, communities have long opposed the handing of federal responsibility to state
and territory governments that often show reckless disregard for nature. The NT Government
can’t be trusted to protect world heritage places like Kakadu and Uluru.”

Conservation Council of the ACT Executive Director, Simon Copland, said:
“Federal nature laws should be administered by the federal government - it’s that simple.
Devolution is reckless and gives rise to potential conflicts of interest, where states and
territories, who are often the key backers of destructive projects, are handed powers to assess
and approve them.”

Queensland Conservation Council Acting Director, Anthony Gough, said:
“The Federal Government seems intent on shrugging off responsibility for its own nature laws,
passing the buck to state and territory governments to decide the fate of icons like the koala and
the Great Barrier Reef on process alone.

“The Great Barrier Reef and our native forests deserve more than a “tick and flick” state
government approval process that doesn’t even consider outcomes.

“Last year’s reforms closed critical loopholes that have tragically seen Queensland become a
world leader in deforestation. These reforms would be jeopardised if oversight was handed to
the Queensland Government, who have repeatedly attacked the reforms and called for them to
be scrapped.”

Conservation Council of SA CEO, Kirsty Bevan, said:
“The Albanese Government must follow through with the creation of strong, enforceable
standards on matters of national environmental significance, and maintain responsibility under
our national nature laws.

South Australia bears the full consequences of cumulative water extraction, contamination and
climate-driven flow reductions in the Murray Darling Basin, and states have demonstrated that
they won’t protect internationally recognised Ramsar wetlands in the Coorong and Lower
Lakes.”

Nature Conservation Council of NSW CEO, Jacqui Mumford, said:
"These budget announcements are a major step back for nature. The changes will make it
easier to destroy, easier to pollute and easier to develop. It rips funding out of investing in nature
protection and restoration as we barrel past various tipping points and are dealing with colliding
extinction and climate crisis.

"This is a nature negative budget."

Environment Victoria CEO, Jono La Nauze, said:
“For the first time in history we will have a national Environment Protection Agency with the
power to enforce the laws that protect Australia’s unique plants and wildlife. This could be
undermined, however, if a future government hands decision-making powers back to state
governments through proposed devolution measures.”

Environment Tasmania CEO, James Overington, said:
“Many of Australia’s state and territory governments are not strong enough to resist industry
pressure over environmental decision-making. We need that national tier of environmental
decision-making to ensure matters of national environmental significance are considered at the
highest level, to ensure the federal government is actively working to meet its global obligations
and continues to be held to account for the state of Australia’s environment.

“With Tasmania’s Maugean skate still balancing on the edge of extinction, how can the Albanese
Government credibly stand by its commitment to ‘no new extinctions’, whilst handing full
environmental control over to a Tasmanian Government that has no interest in tackling the
primary threat to the skate’s survival.”

Contact:
Emma Hoy ([email protected] or 0437751203