The collapse of nature is an economic problem, the Australian Conservation Foundation will argue at Treasurer Jim Chalmer's economic reform roundtable this week.
"It's not a choice between the economy and nature; you can have both or you can have neither," said ACF's CEO Kelly O'Shanassy, who will attend the roundtable session on Better regulation and approvals.
"The Great Barrier Reef, which supports 64,000 jobs and injects around $6.4bn a year into the economy, is in serious strife because of repeated coral bleaching from hotter oceans.
"The Murray-Darling Basin, which supports more than 30% of Australia's food production, is in a dire state, with some ecologists describing the ecosystem as on the brink of collapse.
"Faster decisions are crucial, as is stronger nature protection. Australia's failed national nature law facilitates neither.
"The national nature law contains a series of convoluted processes with no defined outcomes or transparent institutions - a recipe for slow, unpredictable decisions and ecological and economic decline.
"Three elements of environmental law reform are essential to faster decisions and stronger nature protection.
"National environment standards are needed to define the rules on nature protection and guide project proponents on where they can build and where nature needs to be protected because of high conservation value habitat.
"An independent national EPA is needed to administer the standards through making assessment and approval decisions, ensure compliance and enforcement and oversee any accredited arrangements that allow for further efficiencies.
"Better coordination across federal, state and territory governments is needed, but the simplistic idea of handing over Commonwealth responsibilities to State and Territory governments for 'single touch approvals' won't work.
"Research by ACF shows roughly half Australia's GDP (49% or $896 billion) has a moderate to very high direct dependence on nature. Speeding up decisions without boosting nature protection will simply accelerate extinction and put the brakes on our economy and jobs."
Read ACF's submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable
