Our Reconciliation Action Plan

EDO recognises the Traditional Owners and custodians of the land, seas and rivers of Australia. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present and aspire to learn from traditional knowledge and customs so that, together, we can protect our environment and cultural heritage through law. Our Reconciliation Action Plan […]

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Federal Parliament wrap for 2024: the good, the bad, and the unfinished business for climate and nature law

By Frances Medlock, Senior Solicitor – Government & Parliament Liaison  2024 has been a big year in the Federal Parliament for the environment and climate. Moves towards “nature positive” and transitioning Australia to net zero have been high on the agenda, with a flurry of legislative change in the final days of the December sitting […]

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NSW Government moving ahead with long-awaited biodiversity reforms

On the final sitting day of 2024, the NSW Parliament passed the Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Bill 2024 (Offsets Amendment Bill) – signalling the first steps in the Minns Government’s long-awaited biodiversity conservation reforms.   The NSW Government’s Plan for Nature, released earlier this year, offers some of the most positive reforms to the […]

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Forever chemicals to be filtered from Blue Mountains drinking water

Blue Mountains residents are celebrating an important win for community health and the environment after the NSW Government announced they will filter ‘forever chemicals’ from local drinking water.  An advanced PFAS treatment system is being installed at the Cascade Walter Filtration Plant in Katoomba, which supplies drinking water to more than 40,000 residents.   In […]

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First Nations Strategic Advisory Committee – Expressions of Interest

Expressions of interest for the First Nations Strategic Advisory Committee can be provided at any time. EDO will keep a pool of those interested, and contact you when a place becomes available.  What is the Environmental Defenders Office?  EDO is the leading environmental western law practice in the Australia-Pacific region, delivering western legal solutions for […]

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Nature Positive: a summit and a stand off

Australia recently hosted the first Global Nature Positive Summit in Sydney. EDO, along with Businesses, scientists, Traditional Owners, financial institutions, regulators, eNGOs, and government representatives from across the world met to discuss a shared goal of reversing nature destruction and investing in nature positive solutions.   The international vision of ‘nature positive’ drawing on the […]

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Tasmanian report paints a startling picture of an environment under pressure 

For 15 years, Tasmanians have been kept in the dark about the true state of their environment. But last week, the decade-long-delayed State of the Environment (SoE) Report was finally tabled in parliament.   The report paints an alarming picture of an environment under significant strain and facing multiple threats. Of the 29 environmental categories this […]

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Amendments needed to ensure Nature Positive bills live up to their title

By Frances Medlock, Solicitor, Commonwealth & Government Liaison  During the last parliamentary sitting in late June and early July, the Federal House of Representatives passed legislation to implement the second stage of the Albanese government’s Nature Positive reforms. This is an important step towards establishing a national environmental regulator, but what does it mean for […]

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Senate committee misses historic opportunity to enshrine climate justice for children in law   

The major parties need to propose practical measures to safeguard the rights of children and future generations after they recommended the Senate reject the Climate Change Amendment (Duty of Care and Intergenerational Climate Equity) Bill 2023 yesterday. [1]  “It is disappointing that the major parties have passed up an historic opportunity to address significant weakness […]

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A special message from an EDO supporter

My name is Josette Wunder. I’m a Sydneysider who has been donating every year to EDO since 2009. I believe using the law to protect our forests, climate, and communities works. EDO’s impressive outcomes in helping to protect Australia’s unique environment and improving and changing environmental laws are proof of this. As a child, I discovered the wonders of nature […]

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