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Overturning Roe vs Wade might have attracted all the headlines - and emboldened some who would wind back women's reproductive rights here in Australia - but it is not the only daft decision the US Supreme Court has made recently. On Friday, it ruled 6-3 that the Environmental Protection Agency did not have the authority under the Clean Air Act to compel electricity companies to shut down coal-fired power stations and shift to renewables such as wind and solar. The decision is a victory for King Coal and its allies in West Virginia who led the case and a grand headache for the Biden administration as it tries to take global leadership on climate action.
And it's yet another blow for the EPA, which has been under attack from big, polluting business and conservative administrations ever since it was established by Richard Nixon in 1970. Yep, he did more than cover up break-ins and secretly bomb South East Asian nations into near-oblivion. The decision means the EPA cannot regulate the amount of carbon these coal-fired generators spew into the atmosphere.
No doubt this ruling has caught the eye of our new Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, who is in Europe with the PM, hawking Australia's shiny new climate and environmental credentials.
One of Labor's core environmental election pledges was the establishment of a national environmental protection agency. It will have two divisions: one to check compliance with the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act - enacted in 1999 by the Howard government - and the other to collect and store environmental data. Labor's pledge came on the back of the 10-year independent Samuel review into the EPBC Act, which is the core plank of Australian federal environmental law.
Released in October 2020, the Samuel review was damning: "The EPBC Act does not clearly outline its intended outcomes, and the environment has suffered from two decades of failing to continuously improve the law and its implementation. Business has also suffered. The Act is complex and cumbersome and it results in duplication with State and Territory development approval processes. This adds costs to business, often with little benefit to the environment," it found.
The Morrison government can be blamed for some of the environmental somnambulance over that past two decades but we should not forget there was six years of Labor administration in that time frame and seven years of Howard as well. They've all let it slide to the cost of koalas, kangaroos and, erm, echidnas.
When this travelling circus of a government finally stays put for two seconds, we will all be watching to see that it starts delivering on its election promises, including a federal EPA with teeth, not one that can be defanged at the whim of some future administration or judiciary beholden to a particular ideology or business lobby.
A word before signing off. I'll be taking a few days off to recharge the batteries (I plan to take the Indian Scout out for a long ride if La Nina allows it). The spiky and hilarious Steve Evans will be stepping into the burrow in my stead. Please make him welcome by sending all your comments to The Echidna email.
See you in a few days.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you think the PM and ministers are spending too much time overseas? Are you confident the environment is in better hands under Labor? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- The Albanese government has announced a major shake up of the National Resilience and Recovery Agency, with the natural disaster body to merge with Emergency Management Australia and the controversial head, Shane Stone, to leave his role at the end of next month.
- Pandemic leave payments have ended ahead of an expected COVID-19 surge but infected people must still follow directions to isolate at home. The federal government's decision to axe the payment will force thousands of workers to make a choice between obeying isolation rules or paying their bills, Australia's peak union body says.
- Former chief scientist Ian Chubb will lead a sweeping independent review of Australia's carbon credits system amid serious concern about its integrity. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced the six-month probe on Friday, delivering on Labor's promise to examine the scheme if it won government.
THEY SAID IT: "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."- Albert Einstein
YOU SAID IT: "Transparency is the hallmark of good government. Labor must do it." - Shirley
"There needs to be far more clarity about what governments think, decide and do at all levels. Too often they hide behind some kind of confidentiality cloak to inhibit the free circulation of information. Open government would do a great deal to restore the integrity of and respect for what the government does. I suppose there have to be some restrictions where they will affect, say national security. Protection of cabinet papers is currently 30 years. This is probably about an appropriate length of time." - Chris
"To Mark and his observation over patrol boats verses housing. All I can say is why do we have one million empty houses in Australia? Is it greed over need? Banning Airbnb might resolve the housing problem." - Richard
"Off topic for today but I find it amusing that most media are reporting the name of the builder in the Governor General's apology. The builder is now getting even more publicity than he first dreamt of." - Rob
"We are a large country with a small population, mostly centred on our capital cities. We have an enormous coastline to defend, so spending on large expensive capital ships designed for large scale warfare is ludicrous. Our focus should rather be on smaller ships with appropriate air support from better use of current technologies such as drones and assisting our Pacific Island neighbours, rather than trying to play with the big boys on the world stage." - Murray