Environment Protection (Objects of Act and Board Attributes) Amendment Bill
Thursday 1 June 2023
Ms CLANCY (Elder) (16:30): I rise today in support of the Environment Protection (Objects of Act and Board Attributes) Amendment Bill 2023 to amend the Environment Protection Act 1993. I would like to start by thanking our Deputy Premier and Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, as well as her team, for their work in bringing this bill before us. As one of your portfolio responsibilities as Deputy Premier (I presume she is listening at home because who does not when they are home sick?), this parliament is simply made better by your leadership in continuing South Australia's proud history of direct action on climate change.
Appreciation must also be given to all those stakeholders who contributed to the consultation on this bill. I would particularly like to highlight the Premier's Climate Change Council and the Conservation Council SA for their support of this bill and ongoing work in this space. As I understand, some of South Australia's largest greenhouse gas emitters contributed to consultation on this bill and were also largely in support of strengthening the Environment Protection Act and policy. This consultation is further evidence that good government can bring along business on our journey towards decarbonisation.
With more and more South Australians passionately demanding greater action on climate change, it should be clear to everyone in this place that even profit-driven business is turning towards more immediate decarbonisation. We know now more than ever that to say that addressing climate change is bad for business is simply not true.
Environment protection agencies and governments more broadly right across Australia are being rightfully challenged on not only what they say but what they are doing to mitigate the developing impact of climate change. All power to those who continue to respectfully challenge and demand better of governments of any persuasion right across the world, calling on us to use the power of government to influence and enforce climate change mitigation strategy across all sectors of the economy.
We have known for years now that over 70 per cent of global industrial greenhouse gases can be attributed to only 100 companies worldwide. We must consciously and rapidly adjust not only our consumption but, increasingly so, our production methods to reduce greenhouse emissions. As South Australia's principal environmental regulator, the Environment Protection Authority will continue to play a key role in assisting our government to meet our commitment to stronger action on both climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation.
This bill seeks to amend the Environment Protection Act to strengthen the Environment Protection Authority's existing powers to further consider climate change issues when administering the act. Amendments included in this bill provide definitions for climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas emissions within section 3 of the act. Climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation are both necessary in responding to our changing climate.
Further amendments included in this bill to section 10 will strengthen the objects of the act to specifically include addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation when the act is administered. This bill also seeks to amend the Environment Protection Act to provide for the addition of climate change knowledge and expertise to the membership of the Environment Protection Authority's board. This amendment to section 14B of the act will require climate change adaptation or climate change mitigation experience as a required attribute of the membership of the board, ensuring that the necessary expertise is provided while the EPA carries out its important work.
While the existing Environment Protection Act does not specifically mention climate change, it does allow for consideration of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in development referrals and environmental authorisations if those matters are relevant to the determination of an application. These amendments clarify the already existing powers to consider the impact of climate change during the administration of the Environment Protection Act.
This is an important clarification and shows again how all of us as individuals, collectives, businesses big and small, and indeed our parliaments, should always consider our impact on the environment and the actions we can all take to reduce the effects of climate change. By better articulating the Environment Protection Authority's roles and responsibilities, this bill will empower the EPA to support our government in accomplishing our objectives in urgently addressing the climate crisis.
We are utterly dependent on this Earth—consistent weather patterns, clean drinking water, fish in our oceans, crops in our fields and bees in our gardens. We need all of this to continue learning and growing as a global community. We need this, our children need this, and the next generation needs all of this. Not only do we obviously need our planet to survive but we want to enjoy the beauty it has to offer. We love the wilderness. We love our environment. South Australians enjoy our gorgeously diverse and welcoming environment each and every day.
Last year, I had the absolute pleasure of touring the Marion Riding Club, absorbing the scenery of the Shepherds Hill Recreation Park in which they are situated. Whether on horseback or pushbike or just my two little legs—well, they are not that little; they are pretty long and pretty tall—the people of Elder and nearby Waite and Davenport have a simply stunning background to enjoy our natural environment. While on the flatter side terrain-wise, the member for Gibson's electorate has some beautiful wetlands and beaches too.
Like much of my constituency, I have also had the pleasure of enjoying the River Murray. I remember learning to kneeboard on the river, but I am yet to master wakeboarding. In fact, I am absolutely terrible, and there are some excellent photos around of me trying to wakeboard. But I loved learning to kneeboard and soaking in how important the Murray is as the lifeblood of South Australia, which I got to do a lot when I lived in Renmark for a year when I worked for the ABC.
So much of our state's wealth and environmental sustainability come from this river and it must be protected. The Malinauskas Labor government will do just that. We are committed to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and will make the River Murray a priority for South Australia once again. By acting on every recommendation of the Murray-Darling royal commission and engaging with Aboriginal people on their water needs and interests, we have a plan to ensure our fair share of this precious water system both today and for the next generation.
Today, we acknowledge that, while South Australia has a strong reputation for leading both our nation and the world when it comes to renewable energy, we must do more and we must do it quickly. I am proud that for 16 years under a Labor government our state led Australia in renewable energy generation and moved away from our reliance on fossil fuels. In 2002, it was a Labor government that set the 26 per cent renewables by 2020 target, harnessing the abundance of wind and solar resources our state has to offer. We did not just reach that target: we more than doubled it by 2020.
In 2007, it was a Labor government that introduced the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act, making South Australia the first state to legislate targets to reduce greenhouse emissions. In 2017, it was a Labor government that built the world's largest lithium-ion battery, and now it will be a Malinauskas Labor government that builds a hydrogen power station, electrolyser and storage facility to generate clean energy and power new jobs and industry in South Australia.
It has been Labor governments that have protected our environment, and we will build upon this legacy by taking ambitious and immediate action to address climate change. The Malinauskas Labor government's Hydrogen Jobs Plan, as already flagged, will deliver three key elements: a 200 megawatt hydrogen power station, harnessing South Australian renewable energy to supply cleaner and cheaper power to South Australian businesses, factories, manufacturers and miners, creating new jobs and helping attract new industry to our state; a 250 megawatt electrical capacity of hydrogen electrolysers, using excess renewable energy to produce hydrogen, reducing the need to remotely switch off rooftop solar for households and businesses and unlocking the $20 billion pipeline of renewable energy projects in South Australia; and a hydrogen storage facility holding the equivalent of two months' operation or 3,600 tonnes of hydrogen, providing additional capacity when required.
South Australia has a proud history of direct action on climate change under the leadership of Labor governments, not under the leadership of those opposite. Liberal governments have refused to recognise the reality of climate change that we are already facing, burying their heads in the sand while global temperatures and sea levels continue to rise. We will not bury our heads. This bill amends one of South Australia's most important pieces of environmental legislation. Strengthening the Environment Protection Act only serves to improve the Environment Protection Agency's capacity to carry out its roles and duties, and I commend the bill to the house.
