Address to NRM Regions Australia 2026 National NRM Chairs Forum

***Check Against Delivery*** Good morning everyone and thanks for the opportunity to speak with you all about what we are doing - together - to protect Australia’s precious environment for the future. I’d like to start by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we gather and acknowledge the deep and abiding connection of First Nations peoples to our lands and waters.

I also want to acknowledge the work that Australia’s 54 Natural Resource Management organisations do every day - working with landholders, communities, Traditional Owners and local industries to turn national priorities into practical outcomes. Across the country, the on-ground effort of NRM groups is helping build resilience in landscapes, ecosystems and communities, particularly as we face more frequent extreme weather and a changing climate.

I’ve seen that work for myself, in various parts of the country, as both Agriculture and Environment Minister. Achieving amazing things, restoring our environment and building connections in local communities. As a government, we are supporting that effort, through funding programs that I will mention shortly, but also through major reforms to our national environmental law.

EPBC REFORM You would be aware that late last year our government passed landmark reforms to that law, the EPBC Act. These reforms were hard-won, having been gridlocked for years, and they are an important opportunity to drive long-lasting change that will benefit our precious natural environment for years to come. The reform package we delivered is a balanced one, achieving both stronger environmental protections and faster, simpler decision making for business and communities.

Implementation of the reforms is now well underway: Some amendments have already commenced and consultation is now underway on the next tranche of the amendments. Two draft National Environmental Standards are also out for consultation, regarding Matters of National Environmental Significance and Environmental Offsets. Negotiation has begun with most states and territories, to reach new bilateral agreements that will speed up decision making.

We are on track to establish Australia’s first National Environmental Protection Agency on 1 July. We are working productively with states that have Regional Forestry Agreements, on the new requirement for Federal assessment and approval of forestry activities against the new national standards. And I was pleased that this work is being supported by government, with an investment of over $500 million in last week’s Budget, towards implementation of the reforms.

A key principle behind the reforms was to shift the dial from protection of the environment to restoration, to complement the work you do towards restoration on-ground. That principle is now being delivered in a variety of ways, including: The new National Environmental Standards, which will set clear outcomes expected of projects seeking approval. A legislative requirement that projects avoid and mitigate environmental impacts.

Embedding, in the new offsets standard, the principle that offsets must deliver a net environmental gain. Establishing a Restoration Contribution Holder, which offers the opportunity to deliver landscape-scale environmental offsets through the receipt of proponent financial contributions, as an alternative to finding project by project environmental offsets. There is a clear opportunity for NRM groups to participate in the delivery of those landscape-scale offsets moving forward.

LAND CLEARING One of the other major changes the reforms made was to bring certain forms of land clearing under Federal oversight, for the first time. These changes do not represent a blanket ban on agricultural land clearing, but they will bring the agriculture sector in line with all other industries. The new rules legislate that clearing of land that has not been cleared for more than 15 years is no longer exempt from the EPBC Act and will need to undergo Federal assessment to proceed, if that clearing is likely to have a significant impact on nationally protected matters.

This is also the case for vegetation which is within 50 metres of a watercourse, wetland, or drainage line in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area. Just like mining, housing development or renewable energy developments, these types of land clearing will now be subject to Federal scrutiny of their environmental impacts. We expect this change to have a large and positive impact on reef water quality and the health of various threatened species.

Supporting the agriculture sector to understand changes to our environmental laws has been a big priority for my Department, and we’ll continue working closely with the National Farmers Federation and other agricultural stakeholders as they roll out. REGIONAL PLANNING We’ll also have more to say soon on bioregional planning, which is proceeding well in several parts of the country, and which will now expand as a result of the EPBC reforms.

By managing threats to nature more effectively, guiding development toward less environmentally sensitive areas, and supporting proponents to reduce their impacts, bioregional plans will help to streamline project approvals and further improve environmental outcomes. Your knowledge and experience can play an important role in this process, bringing knowledge of local land management and regional environmental conditions, as well as expertise in working with landholders and communities.

We also hope these plans will provide conservation information and guidance that your organisations can draw on to support the planning and delivery of the work that you do. Watch this space for opportunities to have input into these plans moving forward. NATURE INVESTMENT I’m pleased to say that last week’s Federal Budget also committed significant new funds to support a range of mechanisms geared towards investing in nature conservation.

They included a $37 million investment to support the expansion of the nature repair market, a world-leading innovation from Australia. We expect that market to be further stimulated by the change made in the EPBC reforms, which will allow nature repair investments to be used as environmental offsets. At the same time, we expect this change to add further rigour and environmental outcomes to what is achieved via the offsets process.

This and other examples of facilitating private investment in nature will of course be backed by ongoing investment from government. We are making good progress on the delivery of the $250 million Australian Bushland Program, which will expand, and better manage, protected and conserved areas, and is a critical means of achieving our target of protecting 30 per cent of Australia’s land mass by 2030.

The Budget also contained good news for the future of our Saving Native Species program – a critical investment in the recovery of Australia’s most threatened fauna and flora. To date, more than 170 projects have supported the recovery of some of Australia’s most imperilled species and significant natural landscapes. NRM organisations have been important partners in this, with over $47 million in on-ground projects being delivered through your groups.

This work has been critical to the success of the program, and in delivering key conservation outcomes across the country. I know that because I’ve had an opportunity to see some of these programs underway myself around the country. It’s wonderful to see so many species brought back from the brink of extinction, towards recovery and translocation back to the wild.

The Budget secured funding of around $110 million to extend the Saving Native Species program for the next two years and to continue investment in H5 bird flu preparedness efforts, to safeguard many of Australia’s most vulnerable animals and plants, and protect and recover our most biodiverse natural landscapes. As you can see, we have a big agenda to protect and restore Australia’s precious environment.

Something that is the foundation of life on this continent and something we are known for, internationally. NRMs are vital partners in this work. Thank you all again for what you are doing on-ground and I look forward to seeing more of it in action, around our great country.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.