Interview with James Glenday, ABC News Breakfast

JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: Let's go back to the day's news now and get more on the international condemnation that's been coming in after an Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza overnight.

The Federal Environment Minister, Murray Watt, joins us to talk about that and more from Parliament House in Canberra. Murray, welcome back to News Breakfast.

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Hi, James, good to be with you.

JAMES GLENDAY: I did just want to get your initial reaction to this strike. I know you've got an announcement to talk about, but this is a double strike on a hospital in Gaza. Reports suggest at least 20 people are dead, including five journalists.

MURRAY WATT: Look, we utterly condemn this action, James, and it's yet another outrage in a war that has gone on for too long and has cost too many innocent lives. It is very clear that targeting or hitting hospitals, health workers and civilians is a breach of international law, so we join with the rest of the international community in condemning this action. We of course can't speak for Israel's intent in this, but this would appear to be a very clear breach of international law, and these sorts of incidents have got to stop as we find a ceasefire and peace in the Middle East.

JAMES GLENDAY: The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has called this a "tragic mishap", they are his words. Will the Albanese Government do anything apart from just using words to condemn it; will you take more concrete steps to really send a message to Israel?

MURRAY WATT: Well, this is not the first time that we've seen Mr Netanyahu apologise or accept what he calls "innocent mistakes" or "mishaps", but the problem is that every time something like this happens it costs people's lives. It is not acceptable, and what we'll do is continue to work with the rest of the international community to demand a ceasefire, to demand hostages be released and to demand peace in the Middle East, and that requires some change from Mr Netanyahu.

JAMES GLENDAY: Where do you think the Australian community sits on this issue at the moment? Are Australians at the point where they want to see greater action, maybe sanctions, if not against Israel, then maybe against individual members of the Israeli Government?

MURRAY WATT: Well, we've of course already applied sanctions to some individuals within that government, James, but I do think that the Australian community more than anything wants peace in the Middle East. They are not only sick and tired of seeing these sorts of images on their TV screens, but they're distressed by them, as they rightly should be as human beings. We don't want to see the continued loss of life with the continued intransigence from some of the parties involved, and that's why we are working with the international community to drive that peace, not just in the short term but in the long term.

JAMES GLENDAY: No doubt there will be a lot more reaction to this today. I will take you to your portfolio now. This has been a really tricky issue, what to do about environmental protection laws. Have you reached a deal with conservation groups, big business, the WA Government, that's going to keep everyone happy with these new laws?

MURRAY WATT: Look, James, I wouldn't say that we've reached a deal yet, but we're certainly a lot closer than we were and have been for many years. Graeme Samuel handed down his report to the then Environment Minister, Sussan Ley, calling these laws broken and pointing out that they are not working for the environment or for business, and he handed that report down nearly five years ago. It's been 20 years since there's been any significant reform to these environmental law reforms, and what we know is that we simply will not achieve our national priorities like building more homes, delivering more renewable energy, and of course protecting the environment, unless if we see significant reform. So that's why we've committed today to bring forward by several months the introduction of this legislation, we'll be introducing it to the Parliament this side of Christmas, and we certainly will be seeking the support from both the Coalition and the Greens to deliver these reforms. There was a very clear consensus at last week's economic roundtable that we need to get moving on these reforms, that the current laws are not working for business or the environment. We want to build more homes, we want to build more renewable energy, we want to not just protect but restore our natural environment, and the only way we can do that is by getting moving with these reforms.

JAMES GLENDAY: You're probably still working out some of the fine details, but are you inclined to include a climate trigger, so effectively taking into account the impact of climate change in these environmental laws?

MURRAY WATT: Look, we haven't settled a position on that point yet, James, but what I would point out is that Graeme Samuel in his review did not recommend a climate trigger, he expressly ruled that out. What he recommended was that companies, when they're putting forward projects for approval, should disclose their emissions and should disclose what their plans are to reduce their emissions going forward. The reason Graeme recommended that was that we of course have a range of other legislation and measures in place to require companies to reduce the emissions of their projects. We've got our net zero targets, we've got the Safeguard Mechanism, which requires the largest emitting projects in Australia to reduce their greenhouse emissions by 5 per cent every year and be net zero by 2050. So it's not as if we're not dealing with these issues. But the point Graeme Samuel was making is that there's no real need to duplicate them in the environmental laws as well as having those climate laws in place.

JAMES GLENDAY: I just want to take you to housing. We've had a huge amount of feedback about this first home buyers scheme. Of course some young people who might benefit straight away think it's a great idea, a lot of others are really concerned what it might do to prices in the medium term. Can you guarantee that we're not going to get into this cycle where in a couple of years' time, ahead of the next election, you're going to have to offer bigger incentives because house prices have jumped out of reach of another group of Australians?

MURRAY WATT: We're certainly confident, James, that this measure can be delivered in a way that does help more first home owners into buying a house and entering the market. I mean I think one of the things that a lot of the commentators on this ignore is that this is not the only thing we're doing to fix the housing market. We are also building tens of thousands of more homes, because of course the critical thing we need to do is fix the supply problem and deliver more homes, so we're investing in more social and affordable housing. What I've talked to you about today, reforming our environmental laws, is about delivering more homes. Of course Clare O'Neil and the Prime Minister have made other announcements with the Treasurer over the last couple of days about pausing the National Construction Code, and we've said that we will be creating a strike team in my Department to try to move through the backlog of housing approvals that are sitting with us at the moment. So there's a range of different measures that we're undertaking rather than just one, and it will that combination of measures that make sure that more young Australians can get into the housing market.

JAMES GLENDAY: Murray, just before we let you go, people have been sending in photos of their dogs today. We have a photo that you've sent in. Who's this?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, this is a bit of a bitter sweet story, James. My family had a beautiful dog called Hermione, she got that name from the RSPCA, which is where we picked her up a few years ago. Unfortunately, recently she left us, it turned out she had bone cancer, which is one of the reasons why she broke her leg.

JAMES GLENDAY: Aw.

MURRAY WATT: So she left us not too long ago, but she was a very much loved member of our family, and I'm sure my daughter will enjoy seeing her on screen. In fact, it's my daughter's birthday in a couple of weeks, and she's extracted a commitment for a new dog. So maybe next time we talk I'll have a new dog to show you.

JAMES GLENDAY: Okay. Well, I'm sorry to hear about Hermione, thank you very much for sharing that. And yes, the pressure is on, Minister, you've got a lot on your plate, at work and at home. Thank you so much for joining News Breakfast.

MURRAY WATT: Thanks James.