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Australia is set to to overhaul its decades-old nature laws with a raft of major reforms including the country’s first independent environment regulator.<\/p>\n
After a years-long deadlock, the Labor government struck a last-minute deal with the minority Greens party to get the laws passed, after talks with the opposition stalled.<\/p>\n
The changes include more protections for native forests, stricter rules for land clearing and a limit on fast-tracking of coal and gas projects but critics say more is needed.<\/p>\n
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the laws were a win for nature and business and would speed up major projects linked to housing, renewable energy and critical minerals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
With support from the Greens, Labor’s proposed changes are expected to pass through the Senate on Thursday, the last sitting day for parliament this year.<\/p>\n
For months, the opposition – a coalition of the Liberals and Nationals – had also been negotiating with the government on the bill, with a focus on gaining more concessions for businesses.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Liberals leader Sussan Ley said the opposition only learnt of the Labor-Greens deal after the prime minister announced it at a press conference early on Thursday. <\/p>\n
The latest development comes five years after an independent review into Australia’s nature laws found they were no longer fit for purpose.<\/p>\n
The government said the reforms would protect the environment for future generations and speed up projects in “key areas of national priority like housing, renewable energy and critical minerals”.<\/p>\n
“Everyone agrees that the laws as they stand are broken and need to be reformed,” Albanese said. <\/p>\n
“Getting these laws passed is vital to protect our environment and to boost productivity in our economy.”<\/p>\n
Once passed, the new laws will also establish Australia’s first-ever national environment protection agency as well as a set of national standards which would include rules on protecting endangered wildlife. <\/p>\n
Greens leader Senator Larissa Waters said her party had negotiated significant wins but criticised the government for not including a so-called “climate trigger” that could stop fossil fuel projects based on carbon emissions. <\/p>\n
Instead, a project must report its carbon emissions and provide plans on how they plan to reduce those to net zero by 2050.<\/p>\n
The head of the Climate Council, Amanda McKenzie, said while the deal would help native forests, new coal and gas projects “still get a free pass on climate pollution”.<\/p>\n
“That is a gaping hole in a law that should protect nature from the ravages of climate change,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n