STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator DAVID POCOCK (Australian Capital Territory—Independent ACT Whip) (13:53): Australia leads the world in mammal extinctions. We are one of the only developed countries in the world still driving large-scale deforestation. On nature, our record is, tragically, one of the worst on this planet.

But, late last year, the parliament did something that they haven't done for a quarter of a century, and that is update our broken environmental laws. Exactly a week from today, our first national environmental regulator, Environment Protection Australia, opens its doors. These reforms were far from perfect.

I would have loved to have seen them go further and to actually have the starting point of an ethos of stewardship—an attitude that says, 'We do not own the land; we are part of nature, and we are custodians of this incredible continent.' But they were a step in the right direction and they opened the door to big reforms this year, because, as we sit here today, the government is drafting national environmental standards—in plain terms, where the rubber hits the road, the rule book, the thing that actually makes our environmental laws protect nature, protect this incredibly biodiverse continent that we call home.

So this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get it right, for the government to stand up and say, 'We will be judged by future generations on what we do to protect our natural heritage and we're going to do the right thing by ourselves, by this incredible continent and by future generations.' So I urge the Albanese Labor government to do this properly.