UPDATE: Have your say on Australia’s nature laws

The EPBC Reform Bill is open for public feedback until December 5, 2025, and Mission Beach needs your help.

UPDATE 27.11: Big news on Australia’s nature laws. The Federal Government has reached a deal with the Greens to push through long-awaited changes to the EPBC Act. This means tougher rules are coming for things like land-clearing and native-forest logging, and the fast-track approvals for coal and gas projects will be scrapped. There’s still a chance for the community to have a say as the final standards are locked in — so public voices are more important than ever. If these laws deliver what’s promised, we should see stronger protection for wildlife and precious habitats right across the country.

18.11: For more than 30 years, C4 has stood up for the rainforests, cassowaries, wetlands and coastal places that make Mission Beach one of the most special corners of Australia. Many of our long time members remember exactly what it took to protect this place in the past. People stood in front of bulldozers, and buried themselves in the ground. They put their bodies on the line to stop clearing and development.

We hoped that by now our national laws would make that sort of action unnecessary. We hoped that leaders would recognise how important places like Mission Beach are, not only to locals, but to the world. We hoped that after decades of decline, Australia would finally build strong nature laws that stop the destruction before it happens.

Unfortunately, the proposed Environment Protection Reform Bill does not deliver but we do have a (brief) opportunity to influence it.

Why this matters for Mission Beach

Mission Beach sits between two World Heritage areas. It is home to the endangered southern cassowary, rare littoral rainforest, coastal wetlands, and the cultural Country of the Djiru people. Once these ecosystems are damaged, they do not come back.

Every week we see clearing, fragmentation and pressure on wildlife corridors.
We see the Reef struggling with water quality and heat.
We see more vehicles hitting cassowaries.
We see planning decisions that chip away at what remains.

Stronger national nature laws are one of the few tools communities like ours have. They can step in when state planning or local processes cannot or will not protect what is irreplaceable.

We have seen this firsthand.

Lot 66 was only saved because of federal intervention under the EPBC Act. At the time there were no local or state protections strong enough to stop the development. The cassowary corridor running through that land was not recognised in state planning, and without the federal assessment and Minister Peter Garrett’s decision, it would have been lost forever.

PeterGarrett_Lot66

What concerns us

Here is what stands out to C4:

Too much wiggle room for decision makers
The reforms still allow decisions to be made on the basis of whether someone is “satisfied” that a project will not cause harm. That kind of flexibility is exactly what has allowed bad decisions to slip through for decades.

Loopholes that allow clearing to continue
In Queensland, habitat for threatened species is still disappearing at alarming rates. Loopholes and exemptions allow clearing to continue without proper assessment or oversight. The new laws do not close these gaps.

Climate change barely gets a mention
Our laws cannot protect nature if they ignore the biggest threat nature faces. Yet the reforms still do not require climate impacts to be properly considered.

More power handed to state governments without strong checks
Commonwealth oversight has saved important places in the past. The new bills could weaken that safety net at the very moment we need it most.

Offsets that risk becoming a pay to destroy scheme
Developers may be able to pay into a fund instead of truly avoiding harm. In a place like Mission Beach, where habitat is unique and irreplaceable, there is no amount of money that can make up for the loss of rainforest or cassowary corridors.

So, what can you do about it?

Right now, the Senate is asking the public for feedback on these reforms. Anyone can make a submission. You do not need legal expertise. You do not need special language. You only need to speak as someone who cares about this place.

A short, heartfelt message from a Mission Beach resident carries more weight than you might think.

If you want to make a submission, you can visit the Parliament of Australia website and look for the Senate inquiry into the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025. There you will find the “Upload a submission” button.

Tell them why Mission Beach matters.
Tell them why we need strong laws that genuinely protect nature.
Tell them why we cannot keep losing the places and species that define this region.

If you would like help writing your submission, C4 will support you. Just reach out: hello@cassowaryconservation.org

How to make a submission:

  1. Write a short letter or statement (word doc)
    Introduce yourself, mention that you live in or care about Mission Beach or the Cassowary Coast region, and explain why nature protection matters to you.
  2. Explain your concerns or priorities
    You can write your own or refer to the points highlighted above, such as the need for strong federal oversight, closing loopholes that allow clearing without assessment, ensuring climate impacts are considered, and preventing a system that lets companies pay instead of protecting habitat.
  3. Keep it clear and respectful
    One to two pages is ideal. Speak from your own experience.
  4. Submit it to the Senate inquiry
    Go to the Parliament website, and select “upload a submission” from the right-hand menu (Note: you will need to create an account to submit online)
  5. Share with others
    Share the submission link with neighbours, friends and local groups who care about nature.

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