MEDIA RELEASE: WHAT IS JOSH FRYDENBERG THE MINISTER FOR?

After two days of passing the buck to the state government, the Minister for the Environment still doesn’t know what his job involves.

This morning the Minister was discussing allegations around the spill of coal-laden water in to the Caley Valley Wetland. He again reiterated that the matter was a state matter and therefore relieving himself of any responsibility.

The protection of the downstream impacts on the Caley Valley Wetland is clearly a condition in the Federal approval for the Adani Abbott Point Terminal (The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 referral 2011/6194) signed by the then Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, on the 10th December 2013.

The reference is on page 5 at 21. (a) (i).

Yesterday in question time I sought to present the Minister with relevant documents showing that this issue was solely his responsibility. The Minister refused these documents.

When will the Minister for the Environment start defending and advocating for the environment of Australia?

He claims Labor is “muddying the waters.” The only muddying of waters happened when coal-ladened water spilled in to the Caley Valley Wetland. If Australia’s Minister for the Environment has no responsibility for enforcing Federal environmental approvals then he may as well still be the minister for mining.

There was a spill of coal-ladened water in a federally protected wetland. This needs to be investigated.

WEDNESDAY, 7 FEBRUARY 2018