Written by: Senator Sean Bell

Labors rushed changes to the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, supported by the Greens, should have Australians deeply concerned. Labor rammed this package of bills through the Senate with no debate, resulting in the worst abuse of process we have witnessed in recent times.

More than 1500 pages of bureaucracy, these bills will not protect the environment. They will hand enormous power to Canberra, fast-track renewables, and open the door to a “pay-to-destroy” system where our environment is effectively for sale.

More Power for the Minister

This bill rewrites the EPBC Act and gives the Minister sweeping authority to make and change National Environmental Standards. This allows the government to ram through approvals, override state processes, and pick winners, mainly large renewable projects.

New Agencies, Less Accountability

Labor is creating a new National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) costing $121 million, run by a CEO appointed by the Governor-General and almost impossible to remove. Australians can vote out a government, but not this unelected environmental boss.

A second body, Environment Information Australia, will cost another $51.5 million and control environmental data without Ministerial oversight. It will also impose civil penalties for disclosing information the bureaucracy wants kept quiet.

Development Zones & Offsets-for-Sale

The bills allow the creation of “development zones”, areas labelled as having “lower environmental values.” Projects in these zones can skip full assessments and public consultation. Remnant native vegetation isn’t protected and can be bulldozed as long as developers pay into a new Restoration Contributions Account. This is environmental protection in name only.

New Charges & Taxes

Four more bills introduce restoration charges, exemption charges, excise and customs charges. These create a system where developers can pay compensation to bypass environmental rules, especially for renewables.

Fast-Tracking Renewables, Banning Nuclear

While renewables get special treatment and fast-tracking, the bills ban all nuclear energy facilities, shutting down any chance of a reliable zero-emissions alternative.

We Reject this Bill

This package centralises power, weakens real protections, and threatens farmland, wildlife, and communities. One Nation rejects this Bill.