Exclusive: conservationists urge caution as documents show government considering decision-making workaround after bill blocked in Senate
The Morrison government is considering whether a little-known section of national environmental laws could be used to allow developments in some parts of the country to proceed without the need for federal approval.
The move, revealed in documents released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws, could allow the commonwealth to reduce its role in environmental decision-making without needing support for a bill to transfer power to the states and territories which has been blocked by the Senate since last year.