Hon Andrew Powell MP
Liberal National Party
Minister for the Environment and Tourism and Minister for Science and Innovation
Electorate: Glass House
Topic Engagement
Parliamentary Activity
Some votes may not appear here if they were party votes where individual member votes were not recorded.
Supported the bill, focusing on tourism concerns and welcoming amendments for supervised child riders, rail trail and mountain bike exemptions and the revised path speed limits.
“This bill backs responsible operators, it backs responsible riders and it gives police the tools they need to deal with those who do the wrong thing.”— 2026-06-04View Hansard
As Minister for the Environment, moved the second reading, presenting the omnibus bill as practical, risk-based reform that cuts red tape across multiple Acts while maintaining strong environmental safeguards and delivering on the Destination 2045 tourism commitment.
“At its core, this bill is about practical, commonsense environmental reform—reform that delivers certainty, reform that delivers accountability, reform that reduces unnecessary duplication and delay, and reform that delivers better outcomes for Queensland's natural environment.”— 2026-05-14View Hansard
Made a brief contribution supporting all three elements of the bill, particularly the antisocial behaviour precinct provisions relevant to Beerwah in his electorate.
“I too agree that permitting individuals to avoid criminal prosecution for drug possession on up to three occasions risks conveying the message that illicit drug use is tolerable whilst simultaneously weakening the deterrent effect of these criminal offences.”— 2026-04-23View Hansard
Bills Introduced (4)
Tow Truck (Towing from Private Property) Amendment Bill 2017
LapsedThis bill extends Queensland's tow truck laws, which currently only cover accident towing, to also cover towing from private property like shopping centre and commercial car parks. It would cap fees and towing distances, require clear warning signs, and set up a complaints system for tow truck operators.
Waste Reduction and Recycling (Strengthening the Container Refund Scheme) Amendment Bill 2026
Awaiting DebateThis bill has been introduced but the main debate (second reading) hasn't started yet.This bill overhauls the governance and oversight of Queensland's Container Refund Scheme, the bottle and can return program that has operated since 2018. It responds to a parliamentary committee inquiry that found weaknesses in the scheme coordinator's governance, transparency and accountability, and gives the government stronger powers to hold the coordinator to account.
Environmental Protection (Efficiency and Streamlining) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
PassedThis bill became law.This bill changes how Queensland regulates 'environmentally relevant activities', allowing some to operate under a standard code instead of an individual environmental authority, and removes the requirement for small-scale miners to pay a financial surety. It also makes related changes across 13 other Acts, covering groundwater make-good arrangements for bore owners, a single tourism permit for parks and forests, conservation officer powers, and longer prosecution timeframes.
Nature Conservation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
PassedThis bill became law.This bill puts the legal framework in place for government electronic systems to automatically issue low-risk environmental and nature conservation permits. It also retrospectively confirms that permits issued automatically since 2017 are legally valid, giving certainty to the thousands of permit holders who have relied on them.