As Australia’s natural environment declines, Labor appears to cave to vested interests, writes Felicity Wade

On Thursday we were hoping to be celebrating the Australian parliament passing legislation to create a federal Environmental Protection Agency, an expert watchdog to oversee our country’s natural bounty. This was going to be a major moment for which my organisation, the Labor Environment Action Network (LEAN) and many others had worked for years. Promised on the eve of the 2022 election, it was the centre-piece of the Labor’s commitment to the environment. But late on Tuesday afternoon the legislation was moth-balled.

It is a sad and sorry tale.

Felicity Wade is national co-convener of the Labor Environment Action Network