Labor's environmental reform racket weakens environmental protections and makes destroying nature easier, faster and cheaper for industry, despite the rhetoric from Environment Minister Murray Watt. The carbon footprint will only grow!

29 October 2025

ALAN HAYES

 

UNDER new discretionary powers, the environment minister would be able to green-light a development that was potentially in breach of national environmental standards if it was considered to be a “national interest proposal”.

 

The provision to do this and make the changes to current environment law was recommended in Graeme Samuel’s 2020 review of the EPBC Act, which called for it to be used as a “rare exception, demonstrably justified in the public interest and accompanied by a published statement of reasons, which includes the environmental implications of the decision”.

 

On Monday, Environment Minister Murray Watt released the final sections of the government's legislation overhauling federal environment laws, set to be introduced to parliament tomorrow.

 

The minister will be given the ability “to approve major projects like mines and renewable energy even if they do not comply with the law where it is deemed in the public interest”.

 

The draft legislation by the Albanese government would effectively exempt “national interest proposals” from a series of tests designed to protect nature.

 

Unsurprisingly, this potential carve-out of hitherto environment protections has sparked immediate concern among environmentalists. “We are concerned if the reforms do not limit that exemption to genuine emergencies. In the hands of an irresponsible minister, loosely worded exemptions can be very dangerous,” said Nicola Beynon, campaign director of Humane World for Animals Australia.

 

The Wilderness Society's Sam Szoke-Burke also responded with: “The government should ensure greater certainty for the environment and the economy by replacing loopholes and carve-outs with stronger, clearer protections for koalas and forests.”

 

Greens spokesperson for the environment, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said, ““We need environment laws that protect our forests and the climate; these laws do neither, they are not worth the paper they’re printed on.

 

“The Environment Minister’s job is to protect the environment, not just make approvals easier and cheaper for big business. Labor’s laws fast track environmental destruction and do nothing to guarantee protection for the environment.

 

“Rather than closing loopholes that give bulldozers and chainsaws free reign, this package is riddled with get-out clauses to suit industry.

 

“This bill has been drafted with the interests of mining industry front and centre. It weakens environmental protection. It will take us backwards and is worse than the status quo.

 

“While industry will no doubt say they haven’t got enough, their grubby fingerprints are all over it. These laws are written to help big business and the mining companies, at the expense of nature.

 

“The Greens have been very clear from the start. We will not rubber stamp laws that fail to protect our native forests, wildlife and climate.

 

“If the Minister wants to protect nature, then he has a lot of work to do.”

 

The Greens are demanding stronger protections for the environment, and have also flagged they want more robust climate measures, which businesses strongly oppose. The Coalition, meanwhile, says the laws go too far and are not in the interests of business.

 

Predictably, the Business Council of Australia is urging the Coalition to negotiate with Labor on the reforms so as to avoid the government doing a deal with the Greens.

 

There is no doubt, however, that the proposed changes to the environment laws are a win for the grubby mining industry and other big business interests – Woodside and the coal industry must be salivating. The government’s bill will also impose a 28-day time limit on challenging a minister's decision not to assess a project referred under the act – giving the minister the power to permit work to continue while a challenge is being assessed and making it harder for environmental groups to stall projects in the courts.

 

So far, both opposition parties have rejected Labor's pressure to wave the proposals through, which sets up a political fight over nature in the final sitting weeks of the year.

 

“These measures will ensure decision-makers have a toolkit to respond rapidly to serious and urgent emerging events. The Coalition and the Greens need to decide whether they will support the reforms, or if they'll be the reason our environment, business and Australian communities suffer,” Watt said – predictable rhetoric from a minister out of touch with preserving Australia’s natural environment. Yet Watt maintains that “What Graeme Samuel found five years ago was that our national environmental laws are fundamentally broken.”

 

The proposed changes to national environment laws leaves little doubt that the bulldozers and chainsaws are being fuelled-up in anticipation! Why? Because Labor’s environmental reform racket weakens environmental protections and makes destroying nature easier, faster and cheaper for industry.

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