Press conference, Canberra

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Well, thanks everyone. You may have seen this morning that the Government has made a decision to accelerate the introduction of our environmental law reforms. We're bringing forward the introduction of that legislation to the Parliament by six months and I will be introducing legislation to overhaul Australia's environmental laws this side of Christmas. This is in response to the very clear consensus that we saw at last week's Economic Roundtable that these reforms are vital for our environment and for business. The simple truth is that we will not meet our national priorities like delivering more homes, delivering renewable energy, and of course, protecting our environment, unless if we overhaul these laws, they are utterly broken at the moment. Graeme Samuel in his report that was delivered five years ago, said that the current environmental laws are not working for the environment or for business, and that's why we want to get moving with this process as quickly as we can. So, these reforms will deliver stronger environmental protections, they'll deliver quicker and more efficient approvals and assessments for projects, and they'll deliver more transparency when it comes to environmental decision making. So, these are really vital reforms for the nation, it's why we intend to move quickly and introduce that legislation this side of Christmas and we’ll of course be calling on the Coalition and The Greens to support those laws once they're introduced. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: How quickly do you expect to clear the backlog of projects that are waiting for approval?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, you will have seen over the weekend the Treasurer and Minister O'Neil announced that it is our intention to clear through the nearly 30,000 homes that are currently waiting for assessment or approval under the EPBC laws. Now, I'm not going to guarantee that we're going to deliver that tomorrow, and of course, not every single one of those projects will be approved. But the problem we've got at the moment is that there are too many projects that are held up in a system that is broken. So, that's why we've said over the weekend that we will establish a strike team within my Department to prioritise the processing of these housing approvals, it’s why we've said we're going to pilot AI to enable more streamlined decision making, and it’s why we've said that we will enable more projects to access the rapid assessment pathway under the legislation if they can provide us with the kind of information we need to make those assessments when they provide their applications upfront.

JOURNALIST: Can you give applicants some sort of timeline though, like if it gets introduced by the end of the year, are we talking like 12 months from now?

MURRAY WATT: I see, you’re talking about the reforms themselves?

JOURNALIST: No, I'm talking about like, approvals, like people who are waiting, thousands of people, for approvals.

MURRAY WATT: Right, yeah. So, I guess the way I'm approaching this is two steps. There are changes that we can make before the laws get changed, and then there of course are a whole range of changes that can be made under the reforms. What we're trying to do before the laws get changed is prioritise our resources so that we are focusing more on housing approvals and getting them done much more quickly. But look the overall intent of these reforms is to make sure that we can reduce the delays we see of a decade to years and years to months. We want to be able to get as many projects approved as quickly as we can, while of course maintaining strong environmental standards.

JOURNALIST: Minister, one of the big blocks to this reform last term when Ms Plibersek was Minister, was WA Government Premier Roger Cook told Anthony Albanese to kick it into the long grass because of sensitivities over there, Aboriginal culture wars and so forth. You've obviously spoken to Cook I assume, what's his view now? Is he happy for you now to get this done, and is he putting any caveats on it?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah. Look, I guess I should leave it for Premier Cook to explain his own views, but you may have seen that in the three months I've been in the role I've been to Perth three times to meet with Premier Cook, industry stakeholders, environment groups. I'll be meeting with him again today when he's in town. I think it's very clear from Premier Cook that he's supportive of these reforms getting through. He recognises that they are a handbrake on business in WA, just as they are delivering poor environmental outcomes. So, we'll keep working with him closely. We'd of course, like his support with this legislation, but certainly I think in terms of those objectives, he's very supportive.

JOURNALIST: Minister, you are the Environment Minister, the way that you are talking seems like you're prioritising speed and development over the environment. So, what do you say to people who have those concerns, that the environment is going to be taking second place?

MURRAY WATT: Well, I think if you look at what I have said this morning and what I say pretty much every time I get an interview on this, is that we want to do both. We do want to ensure that there are quicker and more efficient approval processes for projects that the nation needs. But we also want to make sure that we are not only protecting the environment but strengthening it. And that is really what is at the heart of Graeme Samuel's recommendations nearly five years ago, that we need strong environmental safeguards as well as quicker and more efficient approval processes. What I've said to stakeholders in the more than 40 meetings, roundtables, forums I've held all around the country, is that this is a package deal. You don't get quicker approvals without stronger environmental standards, and you don't get stronger environmental standards without quicker approvals. They have to be done together, that's what Graeme Samuel recommended, and that's how we'll get environmental laws that are better for our environment and better for business.

JOURNALIST: Minister, this is something that has just come through, I think, in the last hour or so I’ll forgive you if you’re not across it.

MURRAY WATT: I'll do my best.

JOURNALIST: Australia Post has halted a lot of parcel postage to the US because of confusion around the tariffs. Is the Government looking into that at all?

MURRAY WATT: Look, I'm sorry I haven't been briefed on that, but I'm sure the relevant Minister would be happy to have a chat with you about that.

JOURNALIST: Just on your discussions with Roger Cook, how would you characterise those?

MURRAY WATT: Very constructive, very warm, I mean, I’ve known Roger personally for many years in his previous portfolios and mine. I think we've got a good working relationship and every meeting I've had with him has been very constructive. I think he's been encouraged by the amount of consultation that I've done with the Western Australian mining industry as well as with the environment groups and you know, by building that kind of trust with those different groups, I think that that does give us a better chance of passing these reforms. So, I've certainly found all of the conversations I've had with him very constructive, and as I say, I think he's very supportive of reform.

JOURNALIST: Murray, just on Pat Cummins was here last night talking on behalf of climate change for cricket, do you think they should stop playing at night?

MURRAY WATT: Playing cricket at night? Well, I’m intending to go to the Ashes test in Brisbane this year, which is a day-night match. I've never been to a day-night test match.

JOURNALIST: You think that would be a good example, you could coal-fire power the MCG at night?

MURRAY WATT: Well, I'm not sure what the power arrangements are for the MCG these days, they may be getting a lot of it from renewables. But look, I actually attended that function last night with Pat Cummins and he didn't seem that interested in my stories of playing under 14 cricket as an opening batsman when I wasn't very good. But I think he's doing a fantastic job of being an advocate for action on climate change. And you know, there's a few people in this building who might want to listen to the captain of the Australian cricket team. We saw over the weekend, yet again, the LNP in QLD tearing itself apart about net zero. We saw yesterday David Littleproud doing an interview where he said effectively that if the Liberals didn't bow to the Nationals on nuclear power, than the Nationals will walk away. They are a total mess on this issue. We're getting on with the job of delivering environmental reforms, these guys are tearing themselves apart about whether they even believe climate change is real.

JOURNALIST: Speaking about famous cricketers, Usman Khawaja is here today as well. He's asking for expedited reforms on gambling and also action on Gaza. I guess, do you know if the Government set up a meeting with him yet and how would you respond to calls for you to do gambling reform more than two years after the Murphy report?

MURRAY WATT: Look, I've got a lot of respect for Usman Khawaja, not just as a cricketer but as a human being and I welcome his advocacy on any issue that he wishes to take up. I'm not aware of what meetings he's got planned in the building today, but of course our Government has got plans to tackle online gambling over the course of this term and you will have seen the various statements and actions we've taken in relation to Gaza.

JOURNALIST: So, should we ban betting ads for cricket, and night games?

MURRAY WATT: I’m not going to get into that; that’s way outside my portfolio.