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The Northern Territory's four Aboriginal land councils have accused the federal government of failing to consult with them about its proposed environmental legislation reforms, and warned the "survival" of their communities on country is "at stake". In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the Central Land Council, Tiwi Land Council, Northern Land Council and Anindilyakwa Land Council said they were "dismayed" not to be consulted on the proposed reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act). "The very survival of our people on country is at stake," the acting chief executive of the Central Land Council, Josie Douglas, said. "We are living the impacts of climate change and water insecurity now, and the forecasts for the north are devastating. “Our communities are becoming uninhabitable, and the NT’s environment is also under pressure from thirsty development projects.” Dr Douglas added that the current debate around the federal environment reform had been "run as a closed shop between the large environment groups or industry" with little consideration for the unique concerns of First Nations people. The Environment Protection Reform Bill will be introduced to the House of Representatives on Thursday, with the aim of amending the 25-year-old environmental laws that previous ministers Tanya Plibersek and Sussan Ley tried but failed to update. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has said his government's proposed reforms "deliver real gains for the environment and real gains for business". While earlier this month the federal Labor government was nearing a deal with the Coalition over the proposed reforms, support from the opposition has since soured, with leader Sussan Ley stating Labor's proposal was "unreasonable". On Tuesday, Senator Watt warned that any further hesitation on the legislation from the Coalition and Greens would put this attempt at passing reforms at risk. Land councils call for six amendments Chairperson of the Northern Land Council, Matthew Ryan, noted that "Aboriginal people have legal rights and interests in 98 per cent of the land in the NT" and thus "must be part of the conversation." Leslie Tungatalum, the Tiwi Land Council chairperson, also cited concerns for the "rich and unique" biodiversity found near the Tiwi Islands and said it was "vital" that "strong national environmental standards" were put in place to protect it. In the statement, the councils issued Senator Watt with six proposed amendments, including that NT land councils be consulted on the development of national environmental standards and that "Aboriginal cultural values" be considered in regional development planning. Other suggested amendments included that land councils be given more time to consult with traditional owners before establishing development regions and that the minister "retain decision-making powers over federal environment laws". They also called on Senator Watt to "expand the water trigger to all projects that have a significant impact on ground and surface water", and that projects with "major" climate impacts be subject to "stringent climate risk assessments and decisions". On Wednesday last week, Senator Watt confirmed there would be no "climate trigger" written into his government's reforms, but would instead force major projects to report their carbon emissions, as well as provide plans for how they intend to reduce those emissions to net zero by 2050. The ABC contacted Senator Watt's office but they did not provide a response by deadline.
