Queensland Premier Campbell Newman's call to abandon federal laws to protect the environment is a clear sign that Tony Abbott will dismantle the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act if he were to win the 2013 election, Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

"Newman says the Gillard government is influenced by me on the environment. But you can read his own words as Tony Abbott's future action," Senator Brown said in Canberra.

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown today condemned the government-business agenda to wreck environmental laws.

"There is no evidence that delays are jeopardising the viability of any projects. The boom is still booming. In fact, no major resource extraction projects have been refused under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act," Senator Brown said.

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown and Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters spoke to reporters in Canberra today about the government's support for making the Great Barrier reef a rubbish dump and called for action in the public interest from the media inquiry report due out today.

The looming Cabinet reshuffle, including hopes for an effective environment minister, and the need to inform the public about the power of lobbyists were among other topics discussed.

"Some might call the predicted thousands of trucks descending on Canberra ending up as hundreds (ABC, 21/8/11) a ‘flop', but these Australians have every right to a peaceful presence on the parliamentary lawns," Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

"It seems like the prime qualification to be there is to be angry about something - these are Abbott's angry people," Senator Brown said.

"But it seems their views on some issues are fairly shorted sighted, very ‘me-now'."

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown says the oil spill catastrophe now threatening the coastline of several US states highlights both the vulnerability of the Australian marine environment to oil spills and the serious incapacity of the industry to control such events.

"A spill like that now unfolding in the US would decimate the Great Barrier Reef or Western Australia's World Heritage Ningaloo Reef for example," said Senator Brown.

"It's like looking down on an unclaimed bag in a subway," Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said today after flying over the coal tanker stuck fast on the Great Barrier Reef. Just one other small vessel is nearby.

From the air the pristine blue ocean dotted with coral ringed emerald lagoons of the Marine Park dominates, but the Shen Neng 1 sits below like an environmental time-bomb.

"I congratulate all those who are insisting no measure is too expensive to help rescue the Reef and coast from this threat," said Senator Brown.

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown says the Federal and Queensland state governments share responsibility for the Chinese coal carrier Shen Neng 1 being without a pilot when it ran aground east of Great Keppel Island late yesterday, threatening the Great Barrier Reef.
"Despite calls for all such ships to have pilots aboard, both Canberra and Brisbane have bowed to the coal and shipping companies to avoid this common sense requirement," said Senator Brown.
"The failure to insist on pilots has been reckless.