This legislation proposes a scheme to incentivise investments in nature restoration through tradable certificates for projects that protect and restore biodiversity.
The government agreed to amendments to strengthen the transparency, accountability and effectiveness of the scheme from Kylea Tink, Allegra Spender, Zoe Daniel, Zali Steggall and Kate Chaney – demonstrating the valuable contribution they can make even without balance of power.
“People are out there giving nature credits now, with no oversight on those” said Allegra Spender. “It’s a huge opportunity for greenwashing. This really reduces that opportunity.”
Independent Senator David Pocock said “this has been the work of decades getting to this point” and crucial for ensuring Australia hears from First Nations people.
Dr Sophie Scamps, supported by fellow doctor and independent crossbencher, Monique Ryan, introduced a bill last Monday seeking to ban all fast food advertising
Dr Scamps said “we know our children are exposed to over 800 junk food ads on TV alone every year, and that there is a direct link between those ads and childhood obesity."
As you would have seen in our previous email, Parliament House has been rocked by new allegations of sexual harassment. At the same time, the Liberal Party’s leadership has been using Brittany Higgins’ leaked text messages as a political football.
Monique Ryan, appearing on ABC’s Q+A last Monday night said the crossbench had found the politicisation of sexual assault allegations in parliament to be distressing and a deterrent to victims coming forward.“We felt that it was conduct unbecoming of parliament”
Kylea Tink also asked the Prime Minister in Question Time, and wrote to the Speaker of the House, asking them both to provide an update on when they would see the Code of Conduct for parliamentarians applied more broadly.
Monique Ryan is co-chairing a new parliamentary group to help the promotion and roll-out of electric vehicles. 30 MPs from across the political spectrum have signed up to this non-partisan group to hear from experts and discuss opportunities for electric vehicle uptake.
These are just some of the highlights from an extremely action-packed fortnight in Parliament. Parliament will resume in five weeks’ time, and we’ll try to send you another summary of highlights at the end of that sitting period.
Best regards,
Byron Fay
Byron is a climate strategist, former Paris Agreement negotiator and adviser to the Independent Senator Tim Storer. Byron worked for a Biden-aligned Political Action Committee during the 2020 US presidential election, holds a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Oxford, and is a proud descendant of the Dharug nation.