The announcement today that the Australian Conservation Foundation will drop its legal action against Woodside’s mammoth gas project at Scarborough is evidence Australia’s environment laws are “too weak” say the Greens, who are pushing for a climate trigger as part of Labor’s Nature Positive legislation.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is Greens spokesperson for Environment, Manager of Business in the Senate:
“ACF dropping this legal action is proof positive that our environment laws are weak and broken because they fail to tackle climate change.
“The fact that there is no obligation for the Environment Minister to consider climate damage when approving another massive gas field for Woodside shows just how broken our environment laws are.
“We could fix the climate holes in the laws with a Climate Trigger that would stop new coal and gas, but the Albanese Government is talking out both sides of their mouth on the environment.
“The Government will have to decide: do a dirty deal with Peter Dutton to further weaken our environment laws, or work with the Greens to actually protect nature.
“The Greens won’t rubber stamp laws that fast-track destruction & pollution. We need to end native forest logging and to stop new fossil fuels.
“I urge the Labor Government to do right by our kids and by threatened species, instead of pandering to vested interests in the logging and fossil fuel lobby.”