{"id":30631,"date":"2025-11-29T21:25:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T11:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=30631"},"modified":"2025-11-30T10:14:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T00:14:54","slug":"when-the-dust-settles-on-epbc-reform-one-coalition-senator-stood-tall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/when-the-dust-settles-on-epbc-reform-one-coalition-senator-stood-tall\/","title":{"rendered":"When the Dust Settles on EPBC Reform, One Coalition Senator Stood Tall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The truth sometimes shines through the noise of political theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese painted the Federal Coalition as inept and childish, whilst Environment Minister Murray Watt described negotiations over the long-awaited EPBC Reform Bill as \u201cshambolic.\u201d That was the line the mainstream media ran with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in Parliament, the Prime Minister said something else\u2014something that cut against the prevailing narrative. He thanked Liberal Senator Jonno Duniam, the former Agriculture and Forestry Minister under the Coalition government, for his \u201cgood faith negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That acknowledgement matters.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, Wood Central carried two major pieces on the reform story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michelle Grattan\u2019s analysis was scathing of the Coalition, under the headline \u201cWhen the Music Stopped, the Greens Outplayed the Coalition.\u201d <\/a>Meanwhile, a joint article by academics Justine Bell-James (UQ), Euan Ritchie (Deakin), Phillipa McCormack (Adelaide), and Yung En Chee (Melbourne) ran under the banner \u201cEnvironmental Reform Has Finally Landed: But Can it Protect Nature?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Who wants a hardwood chair? Yesterday, Wood Central reported that the Liberal Party was supposedly outmanoeuvred by the Greens over key changes to Australia’s environmental reforms, leaving agriculture and forestry in the cold. (Photo Credit: Wood Central AI-generated image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Buried in their assessment was a surprising concession: \u201cWins for Liberals.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among those wins was Senator Duniam\u2019s push to reshape the definition of \u201cunacceptable impacts\u201d on critically endangered species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final Bill pares this back to projects that \u201cseriously impair viability.\u201d<\/strong> In practice, developments cannot be rejected simply because they might impair viability\u2014they must do so in a way that is severe in nature and extent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This shift, subtle in wording but significant in effect, strengthens certainty for business and industries such as forestry.<\/strong> It also reflects Duniam\u2019s ability to secure outcomes in a hostile negotiating environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bill passed on 28 November 2025, though the final text is not yet available on the Parliamentary website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Senator Who Does the Heavy Lifting<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Jonno Duniam is no stranger to environmental portfolios. He served as Shadow Minister for the Environment in the last Parliament, and before that as Assistant Minister for the Environment in the Coalition Government. At the time, insiders noted that Duniam often shouldered the work that then-Minister David Littleproud found \u201ctoo difficult or challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Barbers Sawmill in Exeter is a sustainable business that supplies the finest Tassie timber. \ud83c\udf32

A big thanks to the team for showing Senator Wendy Askew, Senator Eric Abetz and I around its fantastic site recently. pic.twitter.com\/8ZbG044xaH<\/a><\/p>— Senator Jonno Duniam (@DuniamJonathon) July 28, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>