Vets for Climate Action welcomed the opportunity to provide a submission to the the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee's enquiry into the Nature Repair Market Bill and and the Nature Repair Market (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2023.

The Nature Repair Market Bill 2023 seeks to provide a framework for a voluntary national market that delivers improved biodiversity outcomes. Eligible landholders who undertake projects that enhance or protect biodiversity would be able to receive a tradeable certificate that will be tracked through a national register.

The primary object of the Nature Repair Market Bill is ‘to promote the enhancement or protection of biodiversity in native species in Australia’. We recommend that the Market must not provide the means for the Minister to give approval to new industrial projects, such as new coal mines, through the purchase of biodiversity offsets. This will result in ongoing damage and devaluation of Nature.

Additionally we recommend that:

• the Nature Repair Market Bill acknowledge the need for full environmental accounting and the importance of further research to determine the value of all ecosystems.
• The Nature Repair Market Bill must include all Nature, must acknowledge the need to protect all ecosystems and native species in this country
• Biodiversity certificates must reflect the full value of the environment, the Nature capital.  Funding the restoration of the Nature capital should not be left to the whim of the market but should be jointly funded by a combination of public funds, investment by the landowner, and private contribution
• The Nature Repair Market Bill must require project developers to go to every effort, including new initiatives and new technologies to avoid damage to the environment.  Allowing project developers to purchase biodiversity credits in order to obtain approval for their development will result in ongoing environmental damage, destruction of ecosystems and species extinctions.

This submission would not have been possible without the time and energy of our volunteer Janet Berry. We send our thanks for her work on this important issue.

You can review our submission here