Is Net Zero environmentally friendly?

Dr Ken Henry addresses the National Press Club. ‘Of course we need a carbon tax.’

From the National Press Club: This week’s address by Dr Ken Henry, former Secretary of the Treasury, was not a love letter to the government, but a personal plea from a former senior bureaucrat turned environmental crusader. Henry’s address as chair of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation (ACBF), a registered charity and lobby group, called for reform of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC).

The call was largely based on Professor Graeme Samuel’s recent review of the EPBC Act that recommended the concept of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) be applied on the basis of region-by-region rather than project-by-project.

Alexandra Marshall wrote in the Unfiltered newsletter:

Today we posted our first National Press Club interview. Michael de Percy has been braving Canberra to keep an eye on the little love-in going on between the press and our politicians. This week, Ken Henry came to plead with the government to bring back carbon taxes, strengthen environmental law, and fast-track wind and solar projects. We’ve got the highlights (aka the scariest bits) covered so you can see what’s up next on the nightmare Canberra agenda. It’s on Facebook and Twitter.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Is Net Zero environmentally friendly?

CARBON TAXES, CARBON CREDITS, AND STRONGER ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS 🤔

Chair of the Australian Climate & Biodiversity Foundation, Ken Henry, addressed the National Press Club.

"We need a new collective mindset that understands the state of nature in the 21st Century ...… pic.twitter.com/lFeNJq6nGx

— Alexandra Marshall (@ellymelly) July 18, 2025