Environmental protection laws: Labor to wield nature reform as weapon against Coalition, Greens

Labor will bring on a major fight next week when it revives its controversial nature laws in parliament, sparking anger from environmentalists who fear it will accelerate habitat destruction and business groups who claim it will hand the government broad powers to veto investment.

But the government will seek to turn a political headache into an attack as it introduces a new version of the laws it put on ice before the May election, launching a campaign to brand the Greens as blockers and the Coalition as anti-environment if they oppose the bill in the Senate.

The government attempted to enact similar reforms last term, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intervened to scupper then- environment minister Tanya Plibersek’s negotiations with the Greens in November after opposition from We