Cut green lawfare to lift growth, jobs, investment

The news that a small coterie of green activists has used environmental laws to delay 28 projects worth $65bn ­ demands effective action by the Morrison government. The investments include mines, dams, roads, a tourist development, a natural gas project, a salmon farm and landclearing. On Friday and Saturday, political editor Dennis Shanahan revealed companies trying to invest billions of dollars have been forced into court for a total of more than 10,000 days (almost 28 years) since 2000. At a time when business investment has dropped to its lowest level since the 1990s and Australia is in danger of a recession as a result of the coronavirus, green lawfare is undermining GDP and jobs, especially in regional Australia.

The current review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 led by former Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Graeme Samuel should be an important catalyst for reform. Environment Minister Sussan Ley launched it last year to tackle green tape and provide greater certainty to business, farmers and conservation groups. Investors and regional leaders, frustrated by green groups tying up projects in litigation, should not miss the chance to speak up. Submissions are due by April 17. Mr Samuel will present a draft report in June and his final report in October.

The review covers the EPBC Act as a whole. But last week, free-market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs showed that section 487 of that act is especially problematic. It is used by activists, thousands of kilometres from projects, to delay them for as long as possible. The Abbott government passed an amendment to repeal section 487 in the lower house in 2015. But the Senate blocked the reform. The Morrison government, committed to cutting red tape to boost growth, should revisit the issue. ­Resources Minister Keith Pitt is eager for reform, noting people in regional areas are sick of seeing significant projects delayed by court action by activists with no ­connection to their area. Senate crossbenchers such as Centre Alliance and One Nation should be persuaded, in the interests of their supporters. Submissions to the Samuel inquiry would be a useful impetus for reform.

As Shanahan reported, the IPA found that the vast majority of lawfare under section 487 inflicted long delays but did not result in substantial changes in environmental controls. Of cases under section 487 since 2016, 94 per cent have failed to bring about a ­substantial change to original projects as ­approved by the federal environment minister. Groups that have used the section include the Australian Conservation Foundation, Friends of Leadbeaters Possum, the Bob Brown Foundation and the Wilderness Society. The Adani coal project in Queensland’s Galilee Basin finally got the green light from the state following Labor’s abysmal showing in last year’s federal election. But the company’s nine-year battle, including 341 days in court courtesy of an Australian Conservation Foundation appeal in 2016, damaged Australia’s sovereign risk profile among overseas investors.

Repealing section 487 would not diminish the legal options open to private landowners and others with direct interests in projects that could adversely affect their interests. But by barring ideologically driven green lawfare by activists, such reform would provide an enduring economic stimulus, especially in the regions where unemployment is a problem.