Nature law reform that allows the bush to be bulldozed doesn't pass the pub test
With Environment Minister Murray Watt shortly tabling reforms of Australia's nature protection law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the national environment group outlines its position:
What we need in our new nature laws
Parliament needs to and can get on with developing and passing these reforms.
ACF is calling for four changes to the legislation, these are:
Close deforestation loopholes - so the same rules apply to all industries, with no special carve outs.
Set clear, strong rules for nature protection - set the standard for nature protection and restoration to ensure everyone knows what's in and what's out.
Establish an independent environmental regulator - a referee that makes sure no industry gets a free pass and that decisions are made on evidence, not politics.
Consider climate harm in all decisions - new laws must require decision makers to consider impacts of global heating on nature when assessing projects. The federal government has often claimed that the fossil fuel-driven climate impacts on nature are dealt with in other legislation. This is not true.
Why stronger protection must be a national priority:
Strong nature laws are good for everyone: businesses, families, and nature. They protect the places we love, the water we drink and the air we breathe. They support regional jobs in tourism and land management, and they speed up approvals for renewables, housing and critical minerals by making the pathway clear from the start.
When we protect it, we protect our prosperity. A future made in Australia in manufacturing, energy, agriculture and tourism relies on healthy nature. About $900 billion (nearly half) of Australia's GDP has a moderate to high dependence on healthy nature. When nature suffers, people suffer - tourism operators on WA's bleached Ningaloo Reef are suffering. Businesses affected by South Australia's fossil fuel-charged algal bloom are down an average $52,000 year on year.
Australia is the world's fourth worst country for animal extinctions and the world leader in mammal extinctions. There are 2,265 plants, animals and ecosystems recognised nationally as threatened with extinction. The koala is on track to be extinct in NSW in 15 years. A new study by ACF last month revealed that more koala habitat has been approved for destruction under the national nature law in 2025 than in any other year.
Weak laws have allowed deforestation and destruction in Australia to continue at an enormous and shameful scale. Every two minutes a football field's worth of forests and bushland is bulldozed, displacing threatened species and destroying their homes. Deforestation in catchments washes sediment and toxic pesticides into water, fuelling destructive outbreaks and algal blooms that smother seagrass and coral reefs. Reef damage from sediment run-off puts tens of thousands of those jobs at risk. It's already costing Australia over $2 billion annually through erosion and lost productivity.
There is strong public support for better nature protection. Polling for the Biodiversity Council found 96% of Australians want more action to protect nature. Around 75% want strong new nature laws. That number is even higher among Labor voters at 82%. Australians want the Albanese government to make stronger nature protection a core priority.
Quotes from Australian Conservation Foundation Acting CEO Paul Sinclair:
"Australians love this country for its immense natural wealth: bush, rivers, reefs and wildlife. It's who we are and how we thrive. But our nature is shrinking at break-neck speed. If we want a strong Australia, we need strong nature laws.
"ACF exists as an advocate for nature and the reforms that nature needs. We welcome the Minister's commitment to improved environmental protection as one of the pillars of reform, and acknowledge statements that this will include new nature protection rules under National Environmental Standards. But we are concerned that these are undermined by exemptions, and weak and discretionary language which means that nature protections are not guaranteed or as strong as is needed.
"Our position is crystal clear. The laws need to close the deforestation loopholes - so the same rules for all industries, no special carve outs. They need to consider the climate harm in all decisions. They need to set clear, strong rules for nature protection, so that everyone knows what's in and what's out. And they must establish an independent environment regulator - a referee that makes sure no one gets a free pass and that decisions are made on evidence, not politics.
"We will be watching closely and will continue to fight for these essential four asks. We don't want the Government to make a poor deal influenced by those who don't share our love of nature. You can't talk about protecting nature and allow hundreds of hectares of forest to be bulldozed. That's like saying you can have a conversation about lung cancer and not talk about cigarettes. It doesn't make sense. The legislation must address deforestation and climate change. It is that simple. If it doesn't, it can't pass the pub test."
