Senator BROWN (10:16 PM) —It is appalling to hear that from a Democrat. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act specifically lists all the environmental powers that have been removed. That is what the Democrats negotiated and voted for. The section that we are now trying to remove but will not be able to, and which the Democrats voted for, is on page 62 of that bill. It specifically says:

Approval is not needed for forestry operations permitted by RFAs.

For the millions of hectares of forest in Australia, there is no approval required by the Commonwealth. There is no approval required from the relevant minister. That is a removal of the powers.

Senator Bartlett is trying to confuse the inactivity of recent ministers or the current Minister for the Environment and Heritage with powerlessness. The minister has enormous powers. The fact that they have not been exercised is a political matter; it is not a matter of law. But it is a matter of law that the Democrats have removed the power of that minister to act in the future—for the next 20 years—as far as the forests are concerned. They did say `with their eyes open', and they stand indicted on that score.

Amendment not agreed to.

The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN —We now move to Senator Brown's amendment No. 1 on sheet 1505.