Josh Frydenberg has flagged a compromise on the government’s controversial “green lawfare” changes which are designed to limit the legal standing of conservation groups in court proceedings.
With Labor, the Greens and the Xenophon Senate bloc opposed to the government’s proposition, the environment minister suggested in the Australian Financial Review on Tuesday that the government was prepared to explore alternatives to the proposal originally brought forward by Tony Abbott.
Frydenberg said in an opinion piece published by the paper the government would persist with the original Abbott proposal to repeal section 487 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, “but at the same time alternatives need to be explored”.
“These could include an early and speedy hearing within 60 days of filing a challenge to an EPBC claim to let the court decide whether the challenge has merit; and a codification of what is known as the Shree Minerals defence, whereby administrative errors alone cannot invalidate a decision,” the minister said.
“These ideas and others could be the start of a constructive conversation with the opposition and crossbenchers on how we can find a better way.”
Frydenberg’s overture seems to be an appeal to the Xenophon Senate bloc. It will be difficult for the government to win enough Senate support for the proposed change without the NXT on board.
In an interview with Guardian Australia last week, Nick Xenophon, who opposed the change when Abbott pursued it in the last parliament, said he wasn’t convinced of the need for an EPBC overhaul.
But he said he might support amendments “around the edges, in cases where legal challenges were vexatious”.
Frydenberg said in the article the government believed a better balance needed to be found between environmental protection and investment.
“We must not allow misleading and polemic arguments from the opposition to distract us from the real challenge: namely, to protect our environment with the most rigorous standards while encouraging and welcoming investment as a means to national jobs and wealth creation,” he says.
“These objectives need not be mutually exclusive. But only if the Coalition, Labor and crossbenchers seek and find common ground can we improve the system and alleviate some of the challenges we face.”
