Antinuclear

The shadow environment minister, Tony Burke, has declared Labor is not afraid to strengthen national protections as 371 local branches have endorsed a motion calling on the ALP to set up an independent agency responsible for proactive environmental protection.

A grassroots campaign ahead of Labor’s national conference in July spearheaded by the activist group the Labor Environment Action Network is building support from rank-and-file members for the creation of a federal environmental protection agency, a regulator that could be the decision-maker for approvals rather than the environment minister – and a second organisation, an environment commission, to drive proactive protection of environmental assets.

Separate to the LEAN push, which is about securing a substantial overhaul and strengthening of the existing framework, the draft national platform also proposes inserting a land-clearing trigger in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act, which links the issue explicitly to the management of climate change.

It also proposes consideration of a separate national parks trigger.

The draft platform would commit Labor to carrying out “root and branch reform of federal environment laws” and to a “strong, well-resourced, science based, independent environment institutional structure with strong legislative and financial basis to proactively protect environmental assets”……..https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/may/17/labor-considers-tougher-environmental-laws-as-branches-call-for-new-agency