---
title: Proposed changes to environmental laws put water resources at risk
description: Environmental groups have criticised a proposed change by the Albanese government to national environmental laws which puts water resources at risk.
---
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The Canopy is a weekday morning email newsletter provided by the team at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
# Proposed changes to environmental laws put water resources at risk
Tuesday, 2 April 2024
Environmental groups have criticised a proposed change by the Albanese government to national environmental laws, saying it puts “precious water resources at risk” and could have “centuries-long consequences”.
Climate advocates claim Australian airlines could be found to have misled consumers in the way they present their net zero goals and offset options during flight bookings, following a landmark legal decision on aviation “greenwashing” in a Dutch court.
In recent times Western Australia’s Pilbara region has been a hub for Australia’s fossil fuel industries, but one local Aboriginal corporation is looking to turn the tide and transform these ancient lands into a vanguard of Australia’s renewable future
**Top stories:**
[Labor’s proposed changes to water trigger laws could have ‘centuries-long consequences’, environment groups say](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/02/labor-water-trigger-laws-environment-impact-coal-seam-gas)
Environmental groups have criticised a proposed change by the Albanese government to national environmental laws, saying it puts “precious water resources at risk” and could have “centuries-long consequences”. The proposal would allow states and territories to make decisions about coal mining and unconventional gas where water resources are affected.
[Qantas and Virgin put on notice over offsets after landmark decision on greenwashing](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/02/climate-integrity-australia-dutch-court-klm-emissions-reductions-climate-claims-qantas-virgin?utm_term=660b12b0ec4075ca326fdb3fe416c8d1&utm_campaign=MorningMailAUS&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=morningmailau_email)
Climate advocates claim Australian airlines could be found to have misled consumers in the way they present their net zero goals and offset options during flight bookings, following a landmark legal decision on aviation “greenwashing” in a Dutch court.
[Yindjibarndi community paves the way for Pilbara green energy race](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-drive/carbon-counter-yindjibarndi-energy-acen/103655022)
In recent times Western Australia’s Pilbara region has been a hub for Australia’s fossil fuel industries, but one local Aboriginal corporation is looking to turn the tide and transform these ancient lands into a vanguard of Australia’s renewable future through a combination of wind and solar.
[Albanese government criticised for ‘disturbing’ level of secrecy](https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-government-under-fire-over-disturbing-practice-of-secrecy-20240401-p5fggn.html)
All manner of confidentiality requirements by the federal government while drafting controversial legislation has come under fire from environmental groups being called into closed-door briefings on major changes to environment and protection laws.
[AUKUS deal could make Australia a ‘poison portal’ for international radioactive waste](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/02/poison-portal-us-and-uk-could-send-nuclear-waste-to-australia-under-aukus-inquiry-told?utm_term=660b12b0ec4075ca326fdb3fe416c8d1&utm_campaign=MorningMailAUS&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=morningmailau_email)
New laws to establish a safety framework for Australia’s planned nuclear-powered submarines could also allow the US and UK to send waste here, as both of those countries struggle to deal with their own waste.
[United States becomes biggest exporter of liquified natural gas](https://au.news.yahoo.com/u-now-world-top-exporter-183054515.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90cmFuc2l0aW9uLm1lbHR3YXRlci5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAE1qUWaFt7tbCeycD4IuEtaTOiBhaDlMjr591k8cJ-FpYYgffOy3xTuu5TEkLVZjA4VlKCobqGVAM9RWKN9GvppTgtuIizEKhi1tUM48WYc7b-VgJaJUZffYJ3uiQv2uBU4QvrLGW8l6uMSIxoASe6x8VmsBCrFj6F0gsL0iKda0)
The United States sold more liquefied natural gas on the global market than any other country in 2023, as the nation tries to establish itself as a major fossil fuel player. Between 2020 and 2023, LNG sales from Australia and Qatar ― the world’s two other largest exporters ― ranged from about 10.1 billion cubic feet per day to 10.5 billion.
[New study: Climate change has made heat waves last longer, spike hotter, hurt more people](https://au.news.yahoo.com/study-climate-change-made-heat-092416220.html)
Climate change is making giant heat waves crawl across the globe - and they are baking more people for a longer time with higher temperatures over larger areas, a new study has found.
[Tasmanian dairy claims to have made world’s first commercial ‘Eco-Milk’](https://app.meltwater.com/mwTransition?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.farmweekly.com.au%2Fstory%2F8576837%2Fsea-forests-seaweed-solution-creates-ashgroves-low-emission-milk%2F%3Fcs%3D5155&urlCategories=newsLtd&analytics=false&documentId=u_GRxYRI8IyH5bbsh-2fPzxB694&transitionToken=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzUxMiJ9.eyJob3N0bmFtZSI6Ind3dy5mYXJtd2Vla2x5LmNvbS5hdSJ9.2wJijnHmGMYWdzxuY5y7Q9KpZbQoeJy0BVQ1POWgewiqypqdLhWQJdvfu-0X5h2ebvah8GI97mW0u15-uK93wA)
Ashgrove dairy claim to be bottling the world's first commercially available low-emission milk. By feeding their cows seaweed, Ashgrove claims the new line is produced and distributed with about a quarter of the methane emissions of conventional full cream milks.
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