Editor’s note: This article was updated on February 5, 2025.
After two years of calling for a common-sense approach to Federal environmental reforms, CCIWA is proud to have played a key role in the Government’s decision to abandon its ‘Nature Positive’ Bills in their current form.

CCIWA Chief Economist Aaron Morey
The ‘Nature Positive’ Bills were listed for debate in the Senate on Thursday, February 5 but were later removed from the schedule. This follows intervention from WA Premier Roger Cook urging Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to scuttle the Bills.
The Nature Positive Bills would have established a new Canberra-based bureaucracy with unprecedented power to block major projects in areas like housing, clean energy, mining, public infrastructure and agriculture, without the need to consider the social and economic benefits they would bring.
CCIWA Chief Economist Aaron Morey says the reforms written as they were would have had an oversized impact on the WA economy.
“These reforms would [have done] widespread damage to the WA economy. It [would] stymie job creation in our most important industries and push up housing costs by stalling the construction of new supply,” he says.
“Ironically, these reforms would also slow the energy transition by making it more expensive and time consuming to build clean energy projects and new transmission lines. That could also [have flowed] on to higher energy bills.”
CCIWA continues to urge the Federal Government to go back to the drawing board on these reforms after the Federal Election to achieve an outcome that is better for business and better for the environment.
To find out more about what we stand for, visit our Policy and Advocacy page.