Page 3915 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 29 November 2022
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Right to a healthy environment—Assembly resolution—Government response—Ministerial statement, 29 November 2022.
Your say report—Right to a healthy environment—Report on what we heard.
I move:
That the Assembly take note of the ministerial statement.
MS VASSAROTTI (Kurrajong—Minister for the Environment, Minister for Heritage, Minister for Homelessness and Housing Services and Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction) (10.43): I rise to speak briefly in support of Minister Cheyne’s ministerial statement on the work that has been progressing to explore the idea of the right to a healthy environment. This is exciting reform that we are putting in place, not just for us here today but also for future generations.
Legislating the right for a healthy environment is something that the ACT Greens campaigned for as part of our election platform in 2020. A commitment to explore this issue was included in the Parliamentary and Governing Agreement. Also, earlier this year my colleague Ms Jo Clay brought an important motion to the Assembly to highlight these issues and the work intended by government to progress this issue.
I would like to thank Minister Cheyne, who has been leading this work around progressing the community conversation about how we might look at introducing the right to a healthy environment. As Minister Cheyne has noted, the community discussion around this issue has been positive and useful in informing our progress on this issue. It was fantastic to participate in the panel discussion that was held at the beginning of the process, which outlined some of the key legal issues that should be considered, how we need to incorporate First Nations knowledge into this work and a reflection of what it might mean for us in practical terms.
When we think about the air we breathe, the water we drink and the environment we inhabit, we take this mostly for granted. However, whether it be through the impacts of climate change, the impact of pollution and loss of environmental values, it is becoming increasingly clear that we need to move more actively to protect these essentials of life. It has also become abundantly clear that we are dependent on these systems to work in order to protect our own health and wellbeing. As our First Nations teachers re-enforce to us again and again, if we look after Country, it will look after us.
Since we first started discussing this idea of the right to a healthy environment, some exciting developments have occurred. Very significantly, in July this year, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to declare that the ability to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a universal human right. While not legally binding, this lays the foundation for nations and subnational governments to introduce laws to put this into effect. As a jurisdiction that has led nationally on issues of climate change as well as human rights, it is not surprising that once again we are at the forefront of work in this area.
I would also like to acknowledge the significant work that has been progressed by some of our key stakeholders in this area. For instance, I was really pleased to join
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