A large number of studies, audits, reviews and
parliamentary inquiries have examined various aspects of the legislation over the years. Section 522A In 2006 Chris McGrath examined the constitutional validity of the act and its effectiveness at regulating non-compliance
2007 audit A review of the act and actions taken under the act was published by the
Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in March 2007, entitled "The Conservation and Protection of National Threatened Species and Ecological Communities". The audit widely criticised the
Department of the Environment and Water Resources for inaction with respect to the EPBC; key findings of the audit include: • that the department had failed to keep the list of threatened species sufficiently up to date and has failed to prepare recovery plans; • that there were still inconsistencies between the federal and
state and territory lists of threatened species; • that due to partial or incorrect information there was a risk that incorrect decisions regarding conservation might be made; and • that the department has been denied funds necessary to meet their obligations under the act by the government on four occasions.
Australian Greens leader
Bob Brown said the audit showed that the government had not provided enough funding to properly protect Australia's
endangered species of flora, fauna and ecological communities. He said that there were no plans to save three out of four threatened species. The review was led by Dr
Allan Hawke, supported by an expert panel. In its summary, it said that public comments had been "broadly supportive" of the act, and that the act had brought about many important reforms, and in many respects was still regarded as world leading. However it included 71 recommendations, "summarised into a reform package revolving around a nine-point plan":
2018 invertebrate studies In 2018, two studies looked at the representativeness of listed species, and the other insects and allied invertebrates, proposing a new, strategic national approach for the conservation of these animals.
2018 Guardian A
Guardian Australia investigation reported in March 2018 that Australia had not listed any
critical habitat in the preceding ten years, and only five areas had been registered since the introduction of the act, although more than 1,800 species and ecological communities had been classed as threatened. A recent investigation had shown that Australia was planning to clear of native forest by 2030, much of it in
Queensland. One weakness of the critical habitat register is that its offence provisions do not apply to state or private land, only to
Commonwealth land. This had a big impact on the ability to name a critical habitat for the endangered
Leadbeater's possum, whose habitat was mainly on state- and privately owned land.
June 2020 audit The 2020 audit was the sixth audit of referrals, assessments and approvals under the act. Published and tabled in Parliament ANAO found that the Department did not have adequate performance measures in place; that administration had been poorly handled and that conflicts of interests were not well-managed. James Tresize of the
Australian Conservation Foundation commented that law was "fundamentally broken" and not equipped to deal with dual "extinction and climate crises", saying that Australia needs a stronger law and an independent regulator. The expert panel consists of Bruce Martin, Erika Smyth and
Wendy Craik. The interim report, released in July 2020, concluded that the laws created to protect unique species and habitats are ineffective, and the "current environmental trajectory is unsustainable". Criticism of the act included that it is too focused on process rather than on clear outcomes, and that its current
ad hoc, "project-by-project" approach does not address cumulative harm. During its time in operation, "the list of threatened species and communities has increased over time and there have been very few species that have recovered to the point that they can be removed from the list". Among the changes the report proposes is a framework of legislated national environmental standards with legally enforceable rules, which would underpin all powers allocated to the states and territories. It recommends the establishment of an independent body "to monitor and enforce compliance with environmental laws". The report recommends that the federal government should start creating a set of interim standards initially, in consultation with state governments and all other stakeholders, and also a process whereby traditional knowledge of country by
Indigenous Australians can be better integrated into decision-making. The
minister for the environment,
Sussan Ley, said the government would immediately commit to developing national standards. She also indicated that it would start a process whereby responsibility for environmental approvals could be devolved to state governments, intending to put agreements before parliament in late August 2020, before the release of the final report, due in October. Environmental groups said it would be better to await the final report before cementing the approvals processes. Ley said the government would improve protection of Indigenous heritage, starting with a consultative process which would include state Indigenous and environment ministers.
2025: North West Shelf expansion The May 2025 approval to extend the life of the
Karratha Gas Plant, part of the
North West Shelf Project, beyond its 2030 termination date until 2070, brought more criticism of the EPBC Act. There had been calls to change the EPBC Act to include a climate trigger since at least 2005, when Prime Minister
Anthony Albanese himself (then Shadow Environment Minister) proposed such a measure. The project has been one of Australia's biggest single emitters of
greenhouse gases, and scientists and environmentalists said that the extra 45 years could add to up to six billion tonnes of greenhouse gases, the majority of which would be emitted after the gas was burned in countries to which it was exported. In addition, the plant is situated near to a natural gallery of over a million 50,000-year-old
petroglyphs at
Murujuga, a site of great cultural significance to local Aboriginal people. == See also ==