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Have your say – EPBC Review Survey

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Community Engagement

The National Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is currently under review.

Professor Graeme Samuel AC has been appointed as the independent reviewer. An Expert Panel will support and provide advice to Professor Samuel on specific issues. 

The review will look at how the EPBC Act has been operating, and any changes needed for Australia to support ecologically sustainable development into the future. All Australians are invited to participate in the review.

In June the interim report was released and now all Australians have an opportunity to have their say through an online survey.

In the Interim Report Professor Samuel AC said:

“My interim view is that the EPBC Act does not position the Commonwealth to protect the environment and Australia’s iconic places in the national interest. The operation of the Act is dated and inefficient, and it is not fit to manage current or future environmental challenges, particularly in light of climate change.”

The summary report says:

“Australia’s natural environment and iconic places are in an overall state of decline and are under increasing threat. The current environmental trajectory is unsustainable.

Fundamental reform of national environmental law is required, and new, legally enforceable National Environmental Standards should be the foundation. Standards should be granular and measurable, providing flexibility for development, without compromising environmental sustainability.”

Have you read the Interim Report?

Find it here: https://epbcactreview.environment.gov.au/resources/interim-report

You can have your say on the Interim Report. What has been missed? How could the proposed reforms be improved?

https://haveyoursay.awe.gov.au/epbc-review/survey_tools/comments-on-the-interim-report

Be quick though. The survey closes on 17 August 2020.

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