My question is for the minister representing the environment minister.

Minister, late last year this parliament passed important reforms to our nature laws, the EPBC Act. The changes allow states to be delegated approval powers that are traditionally federal ones. Your government sold this to us on the promise that strong, outcomes-focused national environmental standards would be in place before the states acquired those powers.

Will the government once more assure the Australian people that the states will not be given increased powers until all of these critical standards are finalised?

Call to the minister representing the minister for the environment.

Yeah, thanks very much, Speaker, and I thank the member for Bradfield for the question.

In terms of the laws that were passed, first of all, on the concept of delegating approvals and assessment powers to the states — that did exist under the old Act. But under the old Act, you effectively had to entirely delegate, and the concept of only delegating specific functions is something that was new under what went through.

In terms of the progress of both standards and any concept of delegation to the states, if I can go through the pace as to how each of those works: getting the new environmental standards is our number one priority. That’s where the pace is occurring.

The new legislation comes into effect in tranches over the next year, and there’ll be opportunities for people to engage on the development of the new national environmental standards, which are the backbone of the legislation that went through. Work is already well underway on developing the standards. There have been in the order of around 700 submissions made on those standards, which we’re now working through.

In terms of delegation, there are two different forms. You’ve got delegation potentially of assessments, and you’ve got delegation of approvals. The delegation of assessments is something that would have to be in place and functioning before a delegation of approvals was even considered.

So in terms of the order, it’s the standards that are happening at pace now, and anything in terms of delegation — there would have to have been, for some time, a functioning assessments agreement before consideration was given to approvals.