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Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Retaining Federal Approval Powers) Bill 2012

Introduced into the Senate on 27 November 2012
By: Senator Waters

1.1        This bill amends the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to repeal provisions that exempt certain actions taken by state and territory governments from requirements for Commonwealth environmental approvals.

Compatibility with human rights

1.2        The bill is accompanied by a self-contained statement of compatibility, which notes that:

This bill is confined solely to preventing the Commonwealth from handing its responsibilities for approving proposed actions that significantly impact matters protected under our national environment laws, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, to a State or Territory. The bill does not engage any human rights in a positive or negative manner.

1.3        The statement concludes that there is no question of incompatibility between the bill and relevant human rights.

1.4        The second reading speech of Senator Waters, who introduced the bill, makes it clear that the proponents of the bill see the retention of final decision-making power over relevant environmental matters in Commonwealth hands to be conducive to the better protection of biodiversity and more environmentally friendly outcomes.[1] The protection of biodiversity and the environment may have implications for the enjoyment of the rights to life, to health, and to an adequate standard of living. However, it is not possible to identify the particular consequences of this legislation, as it is essentially framework legislation relating to the allocation of responsibility for particular decisions.

1.5                 The committee considers that the bill does not appear to give rise to any human rights concerns.

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