Australia plans to implement a number of significant changes to its long-standing environmental regulations, including the establishment of the nation’s first independent environmental regulator.
After negotiations with the opposition languished for years, the Labor government reached a last-minute agreement with the small Greens party to pass the laws. More protections for native forests, tighter regulations for removing land, and a cap on the acceleration of coal and gas projects are among the reforms, although detractors claim more is required.
The rules, according to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, would expedite significant projects related to housing, renewable energy, and vital minerals and are a win for industry and the environment.
On Thursday, the final day of parliamentary sessions this year, Labor’s proposed amendments are anticipated to be approved by the Senate with the backing of the Greens. The opposition, which is a coalition of Nationals and Liberals, has been negotiating the bill with the government for months in an effort to secure more business concessions.
Sussan Ley, the leader of the Liberals, called the Labor-Greens agreement “dirty” and predicted that it would result in job losses in the forestry industry. Five years after an impartial review of Australia’s nature laws concluded they were no longer appropriate, the most recent development took place.
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