New environment watchdog election commitment for Queensland welcomed

The Queensland Conservation Council has welcomed Labor’s commitment to introduce an independent environmental protection agency (EPA), calling for a bipartisan approach to ensure environmental criminals are held to account.

The announcement comes following a lengthy campaign by a number of environment and community groups and regional conservation councils across the state and also nationally, as well as peak environment group QCC.

Queensland is the only state in Australia without an EPA, an independent watchdog that enforces laws to protect wildlife and nature, and holds those who break the laws to account.

An independent EPA will play a crucial role in cracking down on the state’s rampant environmental crime, including widescale illegal deforestation. Over the past four years, a whopping 152,100 hectares of unexplained and potentially illegal land clearing has taken place in Queensland - including 8000 hectares of endangered forest.

A strong, well-resourced EPA would ensure environmental crimes like these are swiftly identified and acted on, protecting our iconic wildlife and natural heritage for future generations.

The state’s peak environmental advocacy organisation is calling for the LNP to match the commitment to introduce a well-resourced independent EPA with teeth ahead of the state election in just a few weeks.

North Queensland Conservation Council Coordinator Crystal Falknau said:

Queensland is the only state or territory in Australia without an EPA, so this announcement is long overdue. Queensland desperately needs an independent agency with the authority needed to make the tough calls.

First Nations justice must be a central focus of environmental governance within the EPA, with First Nations and their interests meaningfully represented in decision-making.

Queensland is home to 1075 threatened species and has the highest rates of deforestation in the nation. An EPA is needed to crack down on illegal deforestation and hold those who break the rules to account.

Queenslanders will benefit from greater integrity in environmental regulation and environmental justice that an effective and well-resourced independent EPA could provide.

With Queensland’s outstanding natural and environmental values in alarming decline and our precious native wildlife and flora under extreme pressure, good environmental governance and frameworks are imperative for our environment and for the well-being of future generations.

Queensland Conservation Council Organising Coordinator Jen Acklin said:

This announcement is great news for Queenslanders.

There must be consistent decision-making across all government agencies to meet key  environmental targets, such as climate and biodiversity targets, with the EPA empowered and obliged to enforce and achieve them.

An EPA needs the authority to protect nature, and ensure that the protection of critical habitat isn’t able to be ignored in approval processes by other agencies such as the Coordinator General or the Planning department.

Share Tweet Email