Senator MOORE (Queensland) (20:28): For the record, we are not supporting the amendment, which seeks to exclude bilateral agreements between states and territories on the one hand and the Commonwealth on the other from exemption under federal environmental legislation for northern Australian projects provided that suitable environmental protection arrangements are put in place at state or territory level. A key point of this legislation is to avoid duplication of environmental protection processes across governments. Labor has always believed that sustainability and environmental protection are core considerations in the evaluation of project merit. Labor does not support random amendments to important legislation like the EPBC Act, however well intended they may be.
The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN ( Senator Back ): The question is that amendment (1) on sheet 7908 be agreed to.
Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Bill 2016, as amended, agreed to; Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2016 agreed to.
Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Bill 2016 reported with amendments; Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2016 reported without amendments; report adopted.
