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The Labor Party has called on the Prime Minister to investigate what he calls "shocking allegations of misconduct" involving Angus Taylor and Josh Frydenberg's office.
A Guardian Australia investigation revealed that Taylor had met with environmental officials about a problem at the center of a compliance action involving a company of which he is one of the owners .
As a result of these interviews, the office of the then Minister of Environment and Energy, Frydenberg, asked if the protections for a critically endangered grbadland at the center of compliance action could be diluted and if they could be kept secret.
Terri Butler, spokesman for the environmental labor movement, said Scott Morrison "must investigate the serious case of non-compliance with the ministers' code of conduct."
The leader of the Greens, Richard Di Natale, said that the episode showed the "urgent need" of a commission of national integrity and that the party would present a motion of the Senate asking the government to 39 explain the actions of the two ministers when the parliament returns next month.
Guardian Australia solicited Morrison's comments.
"The shocking allegations of misconduct against today's Liberal ministers are an indictment against the Morrison government," Butler said. "It seems that Angus Taylor broke the ministerial code and met with the environment department while he was investigating the company with which he had links.
"It also seems that the office of Josh Frydenberg asked if he had ministerial powers to weaken the protection of grbadlands in secret, then he tried to conduct a review of agriculture and the EPBC law . "
Butler said Taylor and Frydenberg had to explain exactly what had happened.
"It is not enough for Mr. Frydenberg to consider deploying ministerial powers to secretly defeat environmental protections after holding meetings with his colleague in conflict of interest," she said. "This is not the first time that questions have been asked about Angus Taylor's behavior and potential conflicts of interest.
"The Australians will not let them out, just like Scott Morrison.
"It is imperative that Australians can trust their representatives not to interfere in matters relating to their personal financial interests."
Di Natale said, "It is appalling to think that Angus Taylor would use his privileged position to contact ministry staff and government ministers about a problem that directly affects his business interests.
"We will ensure that Angus Taylor and Josh Frydenberg explain their actions in Parliament when work resumes next month.
"This whole episode shows once again how urgent it is to establish a federal Icac capable of investigating such behaviors that undermine trust in democracy."
The Guardian Australia survey, released Wednesday and Thursday, revealed that Taylor, then Minister of Cities and Digital Transformation, had asked to meet with ministry officials to discuss the 2016 list that protects temperate natural grbadlands highlands of the southeast as a critically endangered community. under the federal law on the environment.
Meetings were requested in 2017 via the Frydenberg office. At the same time, federal and state investigations were being conducted into the alleged 30-hectare poisoning of the grbad species on a property in the Monaro region of New South Wales owned by Jam Land Pty Ltd.
One of the directors of this corporation is Richard Taylor, the minister's brother, and the minister himself holds an interest in the company through his family investment company, Gufee.
Taylor denied having commented on the compliance measures and said that he had been briefed as a member of Hume to understand the technicalities of the revised list and its impact on those involved, including many constituents.
Following Taylor's lobbying, Frydenberg's office sought advice on the extent of his ministerial powers and whether he could override scientific advice and delete the phrase "critically imperiled".
Environmental groups said the revelations raised serious questions about the integrity of Australia's environmental laws.
"The Australian Conservation Foundation is calling on Parliament to investigate these serious issues related to the actions of Josh Frydenberg and Angus Taylor," said Basha Stasak, Nature Program Manager at ACF. "Australians must ensure that violations of environmental law are investigated free of political interference and that scientific registration decisions are not impaired."
Evan Quartermain, program manager of the Australian branch of Humane Society International, said federal environmental officials' investigations into the illegal clearing of farmland were extremely rare. He added that the two ministers should "explain their conduct".
"It is atrocious that ministers seek to remove protections while an investigation continues mysteriously for years," he said. "This is an isolated incident on land belonging to very connected people who seem to believe that they are above the law. I do not think it's a coincidence that the inscriptions on endangered habitats have been avoided since their appearance. "
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