00:00Native animals at risk of extinction, habitats in decline, housing and energy projects stalled.
00:10The common thread, outdated federal environmental laws.
00:14It's an exciting day and one that has been coming for a very long time.
00:19Five years after a landmark report laid bare the flaws in the act,
00:23the Albanese government has unveiled its much anticipated overhaul.
00:27Put simply, it's now or never.
00:30A whole host of projects have to be assessed under federal laws from mines to wind and solar farms.
00:36Right now more than 160 renewables projects are stuck in the approvals pipeline
00:42and it's taking around 118 weeks to reach a final decision.
00:47Murray Watts promising the revamped laws will make the process quicker and simpler,
00:51cutting duplication with the states and clarifying which areas are up for development
00:56and which are not.
00:58I don't think you'd find many Australians out there who would say it's okay to go and mine Uluru
01:02or drill on the Great Barrier Reef.
01:04There won't be a climate trigger which might have blocked fossil fuel projects,
01:08but developers will need to detail how they'll curb emissions
01:12and repair any damage caused to the environment or pay to mitigate it.
01:17The cornerstone of the bill, the first national environmental watchdog,
01:21though the minister will still have the final say.
01:25It's 1500 pages.
01:27It'll take a 40 hour working week to read through it.
01:29I won't be rubber stamping anything that fast tracks destruction.
01:33The Greens are demanding stronger powers to stop native forest logging.
01:38Murray Watts open to negotiations within reason.
01:41No one is going to get 100% of what they want.
01:43If everyone wants 100% of what they want, we will get nothing.
01:46Having failed in the last parliament, Labor is determined to find a breakthrough
01:51and get these laws passed by Christmas.
01:54The question is whether a deal can be done with the Coalition or the Greens
01:58in what's being framed as a test of pragmatism versus protest.
02:02So the Rhonda is an organization.
02:04The
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