Address to the National Landcare Conference

Good morning and thank you for the invitation to speak at the National Landcare Conference, here on the Gold Coast.

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we gather and I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

I know that genuine participation of First Nations people is central to Landcare’s philosophy, as it should, with traditional owners caring for the lands and waterways of our country for tens of thousands of years.

Can I also acknowledge Doug and the whole team at Landcare Australia for hosting this event – and in my home state of Queensland!

I’m really pleased to reconnect with Australia’s Landcare movement, after getting to know many of you, in my former role as the Agriculture Minister.

In that role, I saw the great work you do, with farmers and communities across Australia, to protect and conserve our land, water, soils, plants, animals and ecosystems.

So I’m very excited to working with you again, in my new role as Environment and Water Minister.

Today I’d like to update you on some of my priorities in this new role and take the chance to celebrate the amazing work you do to care for our natural environment.

INTRODUCTION

As you would know, any Labor Environment Minister loves Landcare, because Labor has a proud legacy of supporting Landcare.

Labor luminaries like Joan Kirner, along with farming leaders like Heather Mitchell, helped create Landcare in the 80’s, before it was taken national by Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Rick Farley and Phillip Toyne. For all of us as today’s custodians of Landcare, the movement is forever connected with these legends.

Of course, Bob Hawke championed environmental causes like no other Prime Minister had previously done.

It’s thanks to Bob and his government that places like the Daintree, Uluru and Cradle Mountain are on the World Heritage list.

The Albanese Labor Government continues that legacy, and you may have seen recently I was in Paris to secure the World Heritage listing of the ancient Murujuga landscape, in the Pilbara, home to precious rock art more than 50,000 years old.

Of course, we’re also dealing with the greatest contemporary threat to nature - climate change - including by last week announcing new, ambitious and achievable 2035 emission reduction targets, and by approving over 100 renewable energy projects, since coming to office.

These are just a couple of examples of the work our government has done over the past three years to protect and restore our ecosystems. And in doing so, we always seek to act in partnership, just like Landcare.

LANDCARE/URBAN RIVERS

Our government sees Landcare and its many volunteers as vital for protecting and restoring our precious natural environment.

That’s why we’re providing $14.5 million to Landcare Australia and the National Landcare Network, who are helping to ensure Landcare groups have the tools and resources they need to protect and restore biodiversity.

We’re also providing $200 million through the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program to restore urban waterways so native plants and animals can thrive.

Many projects funded under this program are being delivered by Landcare groups, such as the Pimpama River project being delivered just north of here by the North East Albert Landcare Group.

This group is restoring and improving habitat along the upper section of the river by managing invasive weeds and pests and reducing the risk of wildfire.

These efforts don’t just benefit native birds and fish, they also benefit local communities by improving access to nature and enhancing our natural surroundings.

Further south, I was very pleased to visit one of these projects near Canberra recently and see the great work ACT Landcare is doing to restore habitat at the Jerrabomberra Wetlands.

This project has so far restored 100 hectares with over 300 volunteers contributing to planning, planting and restoration activities.

Through programs like this, we’re building healthier, more resilient waterways and communities – and we’re doing it together.

THREATENED SPECIES

A big priority for Landcare groups and for me is supporting the recovery of threatened species and putting them on an improved trajectory.

Our government’s Threatened Species Action Plan is guiding the protection, management and restoration of Australia's threatened species, with the ambitious goal of no new extinctions.

As well as prioritising 110 species, the Action Plan also identifies 20 priority places where landscape-scale action is helping multiple threatened species and ecological communities.

Again, Landcare groups are vital for supporting the aims of the Threatened Species Action Plan.

In Victoria, Bass Coast Landcare Network are leading a census for the giant Gippsland Earthworm – the first survey of its kind for the species in over 45 years.

Despite growing to about 1.5 metres in length, the earthworm is elusive and new information will help inform recovery actions.

Many of the sites where the earthworm lives are on farmland, and Landcare is vitally important for community engagement and supporting farmers to manage their properties with this species in mind.

It’s this kind of on ground effort, working with farmers, communities and First Nations, that has made Landcare famous around the world.

Much of this work is funded through the Natural Heritage Trust and as we look to the next phase of the NHT, starting in 2028, we will carefully consider how to get the most out of Landcare.

An important part of this work will be to draw on the knowledge, information and data we have obtained under the current phase of the NHT, and the outcomes of the Supporting National Landcare Organisations grant.

I look forward to working with you as we develop the next phase of this transformative program.

NATURE REPAIR MARKET

The partnership approach that Landcare is famous for is also the foundation of other measures we are taking to deliver biodiversity outcomes.

Because the challenge facing nature is significant and cannot be addressed by governments alone.

Many of the most important habitats for our native species are on privately owned land.

That’s why we need landholders and the private sector to be invested in the protection and restoration of nature and to continue to work collaboratively with governments to step up efforts where we can.

During our last term we established the Nature Repair Market – a world-first national, legislated biodiversity market – to encourage and facilitate investment in nature.

Farmers, First Nations people and conservation groups can now attract investment in nature repair projects that improve landscapes in ways that support biodiversity.

Last month, I was pleased to see the very first project registered under the scheme.

It involves planting trees and shrubs to recreate local native ecosystems on a cattle grazing property in North East NSW.

The 438-hectare project is equivalent to 600 footy fields.

Projects like these make it easier for landholders to get the most out of their land, boosting biodiversity alongside agricultural activity.

I hope landholders and investors can take inspiration from this first project and start thinking about how they can get involved in opportunities under the Nature Repair Market.

EPBC REFORM

Finally, I’d like to quickly share with you where we’re at with the reforms to our national environment law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Since starting in this role about four months ago, these reforms have been my highest priority. I have been consulting non-stop with environment and business groups and am pleased that there is broad consensus on many of the key issues.

The blueprint for these reforms is the report and recommendations that were provided by Professor Graeme Samuel to then Environment Minister, now Opposition Leader, Sussan Ley nearly five years ago.

And what Professor Samuel found in his report was that our national environment law is fundamentally broken.

They're not working for the environment, which experiences ongoing decline, and they're not working for business, because of cumbersome processes to get projects assessed and approved.

And so, what we want to do is have environment laws that are modern, that are better for the environment and better for business.

To do that, we are building these reforms on three pillars.

Firstly, stronger environmental protection, through new national environmental standards.
Secondly, quicker and more efficient project approvals, by reducing duplication between state and federal processes.

And thirdly, more transparency when it comes to environmental decisions, with a new Federal Environmental Protection Agency.

A key part of the reforms is a move to more regional planning.

By working with other levels of government and communities early on, we can identify areas of high and low environmental value.

This will make it clearer to project proponents – like housing or renewable energy developers - where development will not be allowed, and where project assessments can be accelerated.

A regional plan can de-risk projects up front, providing more certainty for investors.

Importantly though, it will also enable us to better protect wildlife corridors upfront in project design and deliver restoration at scale.

As I mentioned, the reform package will also include the establishment of a national Environmental Protection Agency.

A federal EPA, with real teeth, will ensure better compliance with the law and come down hard on those damaging our precious environment.

Because while a lot of the public debate on these reforms has focused on the need for quicker approvals, we are talking about an act with the words “Environment Protection” in its title – and restoring nature is central to the amendments.

Having national environment laws that are modern, fit for purpose and have environmental outcomes at the centre, will be key to stopping the decline of the places and species we love.

This has the potential to be a watershed moment for the protection of our environment for generations to come. If we get there – and I’m confident we will – it will be the result of building partnerships across different interest groups, who don’t always agree on everything.

The same approach taken by the founders of Landcare, who built alliances and gained bi-partisan support, which ensured the program survived changes of government.

The passage of these changes to environmental laws offers the opportunity to bring together all sides of politics, to protect nature and support business.

I sincerely hope that both the Coalition and the Greens Party don’t put their own political gain ahead of this important moment.

CONCLUSION

This is just a snapshot of the work that’s being done in the environment portfolio and there is a lot more underway.

We have so much more to do to as a country to meet our nature and climate goals.

Healthy ecosystems are at the centre of our lives - they underpin clean water, clean air and our food systems.

Our economy relies on healthy ecosystems too, so when nature suffers, communities suffer and the economy suffers.

It’s our responsibility to get this right, to leave nature better off than we found it, so our kids and grandkids can enjoy the beauty of this continent as we do.

I’m committed to the task, our government is committed to it and I know the thousands of Landcare groups and volunteers around the country are committed to the task too.

So thank you for having me today, thank you for all the work you do, and I look forward to working together in the coming years.