Overview
- The government says it will amend its reforms to bring native forestry under new National Environmental Standards after a three-year transition, with Regional Forestry Agreements required to meet higher protections and net environmental gain rules.
- Ministers have also offered to remove a proposed national‑interest approval pathway for fossil fuel projects to secure Greens support.
- Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called a three-year window unacceptable and pressed for an immediate end to the RFA exemption, while independent David Pocock said he cannot support the package without significant changes.
- The Coalition outlined conditions for backing the laws, including weakening the proposed EPA’s powers and scrapping climate reporting by project proponents, and it says it cannot support the bill in its current form.
- With roughly a week left in the parliamentary year, Environment Minister Murray Watt expressed confidence the package will pass and publicly increased pressure on the Greens during an event in their Ryan electorate.