Press conference, Canberra

This is a really exciting day as we launch Australia’s first independent Environmental Protection Agency. This is something that has been a lot of work for a lot of people, a long time coming and something that Labor has been committed to and we are now delivering. We're here at this beautiful wetlands, actually right here in the centre of Canberra - you can actually walk right through here into the city.

And it's a perfect example of why an Environmental Protection Agency is so important to protect areas all around the country, but particularly around- we can see where cities are up against nature, so it’s so important that we actually preserve areas like this all around our country, and that's what this new agency will be doing. So it's my pleasure now to hand over to Suzanne.

SUZANNE ORR, ACT MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Hello, thank you. If you don't mind, I'll just take a minute to acknowledge that we are meeting on the lands of the Ngunnawal people today and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging and all people and families with a connection to the lands of this region. Thank you very much Minister Watt for coming along today, all my federal colleagues, working very closely on this one.

Canberra is a city that loves its nature. We are a city in a landscape where the bush capital, we're very proud of how much nature we have just on our doorstep within our city. And as Alicia was saying, continuing to protect that, particularly as our city grows and we have that tension come up between the natural and the built environments, looking at ways we can still make sure that nature prospers while we all have a great place to live.

We like to set the standard here in Canberra and very proud of what we do achieve, but this EPA today will make sure that across Australia we're seeing nature really prioritised and looked after. So I will leave my comments there so we can get on to the really exciting part, which I believe is hearing from the Minister to say that we're officially launching this.

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Well thanks very much, Suzanne. Thanks to you and all of my federal colleagues for being here for what is a really exciting day for Australia's natural environment moving forwards. This week we will see again that the Albanese Labor Government is delivering real change for Australians.

We're delivering real change through from the 1st of July, the next round of our tax cuts coming online, the increases to the minimum wage which we fought for in a submission to the Fair Work Commission, an extension to paid parental leave and making our Urgent Care Clinics funded through Medicare permanent. But of course there's also real change coming for our natural environment in the form of Australia's first ever National Environment Protection Agency.

This Wednesday, the 1st of July, we will see the new Environment Protection Agency open its doors, start operations and deliver on one of the key commitments we made in passing last year, the historic reforms to our national environmental laws. And that was to make sure that we had a set of laws in place and structures in place to deliver stronger environmental protections and faster and simpler processes for businesses so that we can get the housing, the energy and the minerals projects that Australia needs.

Central to delivering on those two commitments - stronger environmental protections and faster decision making - is the creation of the new National EPA. It will be headed by an eminent public servant, John Bradley, who I'll introduce to you soon, and it will contain a band of very committed public servants who'll be working hard to make sure that we do, not only protect, but restore Australia's natural environment but also at the same time make sure that we have good fast simple decision making processes so that we can see those critical projects up and running much more quickly than we have in the past.

The creation of a new National Environment Protection Agency adds to Federal Labor's strong environmental legacy going back decades. It was Labor governments that saved the Franklin and protected the Daintree. It was Labor governments that legislated for net zero emissions by 2050.

It was Labor governments that championed the international prohibition on mining in Antarctica, and now it's a Labor government that's delivering the first ever National Environment Protection Agency. So this demonstrates very clearly that Labor is the party of the environment. It's the party of actually delivering the real change that our environment needs, and that's what we'll be securing through the creation of the EPA.

Now we're very fortunate in having been able to appoint a leading environmental regulator from Australia as the inaugural CEO of the National EPA. John Bradley is someone who has led environmental regulation and reform right around the country over the last couple of decades. John comes to this job having recently served for a number of years as the Secretary of the Victorian Department of the Environment, but he's also served as the Department of Environment Head and the Department of Premier Head in Queensland, in addition to having a very successful industry career as well.

So I can't think of anyone better than John to head up this institution, bringing that vast experience from government and from industry, and I really look forward to him walking through that door on the 1st of July to usher in the next stage of environmental reform in Australia. I'll introduce John now to speak to you and then we're all happy to take questions.

JOHN BRADLEY, CEO OF THE NATIONAL EPA: Well thanks very much, Minister, and it is a huge pleasure to be with you today as we mark the week in which the first National Environmental Protection Agency will begin. It's appropriate as we recognise the beginning of this new agency to also acknowledge that we're in the country of the Traditional Owners of the land on which we're gathering and to recognise that this agency will receive the benefits of the custodianship of Australia's precious natural environment over thousands of years.

As we begin in our new role, we bring together really significant capability, consolidating the environmental regulatory capability across the Commonwealth Government, and also the new powers that have been put in place through the legislation that was passed including stronger powers for environmental protection orders and expanded auditing framework and increased penalties under the legislation where there is serious and deliberate harm to the environment and that sets us up with a really strong set of regulatory tools.

But we're also really excited, this team that are coming together this week, to make full use of this new regulatory regime that's passing the Parliament and being put in place this year that allows for a more strategic landscape scale approach to managing our environmental outcomes and faster, timely decision-making. As we bring together this agency we want to make sure that it's an agency that increases trust in environmental regulation, and builds transparency and accountability into the work that we do.

The legislation puts in place measures to ensure that, including enshrining the independence of the agency as it undertakes its work and supports the Minister in decision making in relation to project assessments. So there's a strong set of tools being put in place. We, under the new regime, will not be able to approve a project unless it meets those National Environmental Standards, unless it ensures there is no unacceptable impact to the new standard defined in the legislation, and unless it ensures that where there is a residual significant impact on the environment, that that is offset in a way that achieves net gain for the environment.

I might just recognise the compliance and enforcement capability of the agency. We will be putting as much effort into support to comply and education and simplifying our regulatory framework as we will acting decisively and quickly where we see significant deliberate breaches of environmental obligations from duty holders. We're looking forward to working with all of the stakeholders who put so much effort into the legislative reform that's just been put in place and we know that they're very invested in making sure that the agency is successful and we're achieving better outcomes for the environment but also faster and more timely decisions in those important sectors of the economy like housing, the renewable energy transition and critical infrastructure that are going to support Australia's productivity for generations to come.

Thanks very much, Minister. MURRAY WATT: Thanks John. Any questions?

JOURNALIST: Just in terms of the compliance ability of the EPA, is the maximum amount in terms of the fine that the EPA can hand out, is that $15.6 million? MURRAY WATT: My recollection is that it's in the realm of $10 to $15 million…I might have to check the legislation to give you a specific answer. But what I can say is that the penalties that will now apply through our environmental reforms are far higher than what they have been previously.

One of the things, frankly, that we found is that under the previous legislation the fines that were the maximums were simply not a deterrent to the worst kind of environmental harm that can be caused. We have significantly increased those fines in addition to providing additional resources to the new EPA so that it can do a more thorough job when it comes to compliance and enforcement as well.

JOURNALIST: Do you think that figure is high enough given that the eSafety has the power to go after fines of $49 million and that's since been doubled to $99 million. Do you think $15.6 million is reasonable enough to stop companies from doing that? MURRAY WATT: Yeah, as I say, I'd like to come back to you on what those maximum penalties are because I actually think they're significantly higher than that $15.6 million because there is also a provision to be able to fine companies multiples of their financial turnover any one year.

So if you're talking about a large company that's going to end up being a lot more than $15.6 million. So why don't we come back to you with what those dollar figures are? But I'm certainly sure that as a result of the changes that we've made around enforcement and fines that will serve a much bigger deterrent than what we have in the past.

JOURNALIST: And if those figures aren't high enough, would the Government be open to moving to increase them? MURRAY WATT: Well, I mean, obviously we're just in the process of rolling those reforms out now and I'm confident that the new levels that we've set will be that deterrent that we badly needed. JOURNALIST: And just- so in terms of the initial projects, where do you think the EPA might perform an initial role and what might they look like?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, so John has obviously given you a bit of an overview of the kind of roles and responsibilities of the new EPA. Probably the most prominent from a public sense will be the EPA's role in assessing and approving projects when they're put through seeking EPBC approvals and assessments. That will be a very large part of the job of this agency.

But in addition it has a role when it comes to issuing permits, issuing fines and prosecutions around land clearing that's done inappropriately. So there'll be a very broad range of tasks, well beyond those that capture the public imagination. But as I say, what this really comes back to is delivering on those commitments that we gave in the reforms to strengthen environmental protections and simplify and speed up our decision making.

In a sentence, what that's about is protecting what's precious and powering productivity. That's what we want to see the EPA do and that's what the EPBC reforms were all about. JOURNALIST: What are some metrics, say 12 months from now, what are some metrics that you would like to see this time next year that will show that the EPA has been a success?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, so I've begun a discussion with John as the incoming CEO about setting KPIs for the new agency. Obviously that hasn't occurred yet given it hasn't opened its doors and won't be doing so till Wednesday. But certainly some of the early thinking in that space is around the time frames for making decisions because we do know that there have been times when decisions have taken too long in order to get the housing, the renewables, the minerals projects that we need as a country.

But also of course we need to focus on what the EPA can do to strengthen our environmental protection as well. We as a Government have set the commitment of protecting 30 percent of Australia's land and ocean by 2030. We're on the way to getting there but the EPA will play a role in helping us get there as well.

But also through other aspects of these reforms such as developing regional plans with state and territory governments which clearly mark out within a particular region the areas where development can be fast-tracked because it's got low environmental value, and the areas where development can't occur because it's got high environmental value. Putting all of those things together is how we expect to get to that dual commitment of stronger environmental protections and faster decisions.

JOURNALIST: Just on another topic if I may? MURRAY WATT: JOURNALIST: The New South Wales Government have announced that they'll start doing shark patrolling for sharks from dawn to dusk. Do you think that's enough to protect people who use the ocean in that state?

Or do you think that we might need to move to culling? MURRAY WATT: Oh look, I welcome the announcement from the New South Wales Premier this morning. I think all Australians, and particularly Sydneysiders, have been concerned by the spate of shark attacks, including that one at Coogee recently.

What I've heard from the New South Wales Premier this morning is that there's going to be a very heavy emphasis on surveillance, using drones and other technology to better track shark movements. People come from all around the world to swim in Sydney's beaches, let alone people who live in Sydney themselves. As governments, we want to do everything we can to keep people safe in those circumstances.

So I certainly support what the Premier is putting forward this morning. JOURNALIST: Chris Minns also said he was open to potentially the culling of bull sharks in estuaries, for example Sydney Harbour, Parramatta River. What are your thoughts on that?

MURRAY WATT: Well, I mean, what I heard the Premier say, as I've already said, is that there was going to be a very strong emphasis on surveillance. He has made the point that there are some waterways, particularly rivers within Sydney, where we do see high numbers of bull shark, particularly in summer. I'm sure that the New South Wales Government will make sure that any efforts it undertakes in terms of dealing with those sharks meet both federal and state environmental laws.

JOURNALIST: And just on bird flu, over the weekend there was a media report on the potential for bird flu to be transmissible through cats. Should there be a precaution of- would you encourage all cat owners to, I guess, keep their cats indoors and should there be, I guess, more stricter precautions to stop the spread of bird flu? MURRAY WATT: In anticipation of questions on bird flu, we've got our Threatened Species Commissioner, Dr Fiona Fraser here, so she might be able to directly address the point.

What I can say on bird flu is it's very pleasing to see that as of yesterday we still only had four confirmed cases in Australia, three from Western Australia, one from South Australia. It's also important to note that all of those cases involve migratory birds. Most likely they've come up to the Australian mainland from sub-Antarctic islands that have got bird flu there.

So it's good that at this point in time we haven't seen broader spread to the Australian wildlife or to our poultry industry. You will have heard us talk over the last week, led by Julie Collins as the Agriculture Minister, the preparedness plans that we've put in place and we remain very vigilant going forward. In terms of your specific question about cats, I might invite Fiona to come and address you.

DR FIONA FRASER, THREATENED SPECIES COMMISSIONER: Thank you. We very much encourage the Australian public to avoid, record and report when it comes to potential incidents of H5 bird flu in Australia. And the avoid includes humans not touching potentially sick birds in the wild if you think they may be impacted by bird flu, but also keeping your pets away from wild birds.

So that includes pet cats and pet dogs. Pet cats and dogs which come into contact with sick birds could capture H5 bird flu themselves and all mammals are susceptible to H5 bird flu so that includes our pet cats and dogs. And it's generally good practise to keep your pets away from wildlife anyway.

It's safer for our pets, it's safer for our wildlife, and here in the ACT there's some very good legislation and regulations to help ensure our wildlife stays safe from pet cats and dogs. MURRAY WATT: I've got just one update. Thanks Fiona.

And while I'm thanking people, can I thank Suzanne for being here. Obviously the EPBC reforms will involve a very big rollout with States and Territories, so we really appreciate the work that we've been doing already with you. And thanks to the three federal colleagues, all of whom were very strong supporters of the changes we've made to the EPBC Act.

So thanks for being here today, the three of you as well. On the fines point, since I received the question about the $15.6 million, that figure didn't quite ring true and what I've confirmed is that the maximum fine under the new environmental laws is over $800 million or 10 percent of a company's revenue capped at $825 million. So those, I think anyone would accept are very big deterrents for companies doing the wrong thing.

Of course, we don't want to see it get to that and that's one of the reasons why we've got an EPA who'll be available to work with companies to avoid the kind of environmental impacts that will attract those fines in the first place. JOURNALIST: Minister Watt, just one more question. I was just asked if we could get an update on the preparation that eastern states are making for bird flu?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, again I might get Fiona to elaborate because she's been part of some of those official meetings with States and Territories. But since we received the first report of a suspected bird flu case in Western Australia a touch over a week ago, there have been all of the prepared plans and committee meetings have taken place. I know that there's been a number of different meetings take place between federal, state and territory officials.

There are no reports whatsoever of bird flu along any of the eastern coast states. As I've mentioned, there is one confirmed case in South Australia and three now in Western Australia. It's obviously a good thing that we haven't seen that happen on the east coast but we do remain vigilant about the potential for that bird flu to spread into other states as well.

Anything you wanted to add on the east coast, Fiona? No? JOURNALIST: Is it a matter of when and not if for bird flu cases to start popping up along the east coast?

MURRAY WATT: Look, not necessarily. I mean we've always said that it's a matter of when, not if, that Australia would have bird flu come to our shores. We were the last continent in the world that did not have this strain of bird flu on our shores.

And it's quite remarkable that it's taken this long. And frankly, that has given us the time to prepare and make sure that we are as well prepared as possible, including through programs that my department has been funding, along with the Agriculture Department. You know, it is possible that from these cases that we've seen in South and Western Australia, that that does spread into other parts of the Australian community.

Equally, it's possible that birds might fly onto the east coast from other parts of the world that have bird flu. So I can't guarantee that it won't get there, but what we have seen in some other continents is that bird flu does come into that country or continent without spreading. So it's a little bit uncertain.

What is certain is that we are absolutely doing the work that we need to do with States and Territories, environmental organisations and the chicken industry to make sure we're as well prepared as we possibly can be. Okay? Thanks everyone.

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.