Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has welcomed the announcement she is continuing as spokesperson for Environment and Water, and Media and Communications, and adding Tourism and Dental Health to her portfolio responsibilities under the new leadership of Adam Bandt MP.

The Liberals, Nationals, Labor and One Nation have refused to support the Greens call for the NSW Government to reinstate the moratorium on floodplain harvesting and water pumping.

Senator for South Australia and Greens Environment Spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said:

Debate commenced in the Senate today on the Greens ‘Climate Trigger’ Bill which would require climate impacts and carbon emissions to be assessed before large-scale projects are given environmental approval.

The Bill will now go to the Senate Environment and Communications Committee for consideration through public hearings and written submissions.

Greens Environment Spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who introduced the Bill, said:

The Greens will refer the Environment Restoration Fund and the Communities Environment Program to the Auditor General for investigation, after The Saturday Paper reported today the $100m grants were used by the Coalition for pork-barrelling.

New laws that would require climate impacts and carbon emissions to be assessed before large-scale projects are given environmental approval have been introduced into the Senate today.

The NSW Government is again putting the Murray-Darling river system in jeopardy by lifting the moratorium on floodplain harvesting before water from recent rains has made it down the river, and they should urgently reinstate it, the Greens say.

Reports of a mass koala massacre in Victoria by a private logging company require an urgent independent investigation, the Greens say.

Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said she had written to the Victorian and Federal Environment Ministers asking them to investigate and explain the gruesome footage that had emerged showing hundreds of koalas bulldozed to their deaths at a bluegum plantation.

The Greens have backed the community groups taking legal action to challenge the government regulator’s (NOPSEMA) initial approval of Norwegian oil giant Equinor’s plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight.

Chair of the Senate's Environment Committee Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has announced today she will move for the Faunal Extinction Inquiry to examine the impact of the catastrophic fires across the country on endangered wildlife and flora.