Chapter 1Introduction
1.1On 28 July 2022, the Senate referred an inquiry into the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Save the Koala) Bill 2021 (the bill) to the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee (the committee). The bill is a private senator’s bill introduced by SenatorHanson‑Young.
1.2The Senate originally set a reporting date of 8 February 2023. After several extensions, the final reporting date for the inquiry was 29 February 2024.
1.3According to the Explanatory Memorandum (EM), the bill would amend parts of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) to introduce a moratorium on the clearing of koala habitat. Specifically, the bill would:
introduce a statutory test for determining whether an action has or will have a significant impact on koalas;
remove the exemption of Regional Forest Agreements from the requirements of the EPBC Act where there is, may, or is likely to be, a significant impact on koalas. Should the bill be passed, this would mean that any forestry operation that has a significant impact on koalas will require approval as an action under the EPBC Act;
introduce a moratorium to prevent the relevant Minister from approving an action that will involve clearing of koala habitat; and
introduce new definitions for ‘koala habitat’ and ‘koala habitat tree’ to define terms used in the other proposed amendments.
Conduct of the inquiry
1.4Following usual practice, the committee advertised the inquiry on its website and wrote to relevant stakeholders inviting submissions by 30 September 2022. In total, the committee received 40 submissions which are listed at Appendix 1 and are available on the committee's website.
1.5The bill was initially referred to the committee in February 2021 during the 46thParliament. That inquiry received 17 submissions before Parliament was prorogued. Evidence received to the 46th Parliament inquiry has informed the findings and recommendations of this report and is used throughout this report. These submissions are listed in Appendix 2.
1.6The committee agreed to conduct its inquiry based on written evidence received.
Purpose of the bill
1.7In October 2022, during her second reading speech, Senator Hanson-Young noted that ‘… Australia continues to have the most mammal extinctions in the world ... When it comes to koala populations it [World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Living Planet Report 2022] found they've plummeted in Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT.’
1.8Senator Hanson-Young highlighted that there are increasing pressures on Australia’s environment including climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and resource extraction. Therefore, ‘[i]f urgent action is not taken to address these pressures and threats then the koala and many other precious wildlife species will be pushed to the brink of extinction’.
1.9Senator Hanson-Young explained that the bill would prevent approval of projects where it has been proposed to be located on koala habitat:
This bill goes a long way towards stopping habitat loss, whether that loss is due to a new coalmine, gas mine, big property development, cement mine, new road or some other type of project. So long as that proposal is on critical koala habitat, I put to you that it should not go ahead ...
[T]here are many projects on the minister's desk, where big companies are asking her to greenlight their projects at the cost of the survival of our native species ...
This legislation would stop that from happening. This legislation would put a moratorium on the destruction of critical koala habitat, to give the koala the opportunity to survive. This isn't about being antidevelopment; this is about making sure these projects are done in the right places not the wrong places.
1.10The bill’s EM noted that ‘habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation is the greatest threat to koalas. Koalas will be extinct in NSW by 2050 unless land clearing is stopped’.
Statement of compatibility with human rights and accountability standards
1.11The EM states that the bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 as it does not raise any human rights issues.
1.12The committee notes that the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills (Scrutiny Committee) and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (Human Rights Committee) examined the bill and had no comments.
Structure of this report
1.13This report comprises two chapters:
This chapter outlines the purpose and key amendments of the bill and provides details regarding the administration of the inquiry.
Chapter 2 explores the key arguments raised in support of and opposition to the bill and concludes with the committee's view and recommendation.
Acknowledgement
1.14The committee thanks all individuals and organisations who contributed to this inquiry by preparing written submissions.