The Greens’ hypocrisy was again on show today, as they failed to back a Coalition motion to postpone consideration of Labor’s flawed nature repair market legislation – despite saying they oppose it.
There has been overwhelming stakeholder advocacy throughout 2023 that Tanya Plibersek’s nature repair market Bills should be deferred until after parliamentary consideration of her wider EPBC Act overhaul.
But the Greens failed to support this position today, and remained mute in the Senate on the reason for their actions.
This is in spite of much chest-beating, over several months, from the Greens about the flaws in the Government’s nature repair market legislation – and the need for much stronger environmental reforms to supersede it.
Extraordinarily, their actions today even defied the sentiment and will of the founder of their own political party, Bob Brown.
In June, the Bob Brown Foundation said that: “the Government has announced it intends to rewrite the EPBC Act. It is putting the cart before the horse to legislate a Nature Repair Market Bill before the new legislation is written as the new standards and provisions should govern the proposed market not the other way around. If the Government refuses to abandon the Nature Repair Market Bill, the new legislation must precede it”.
The division on today’s Coalition motion ended in a 28-31 result, with the Greens’ votes crucial in determining the outcome.
Unlike the Greens and Labor, the Coalition will always listen to, and consult with, stakeholders on the nature repair market legislation and wider environmental reform.