Former Greens leader Bob Brown has urged the minor party to not preference Labor ahead of the Liberal party in Tasmanian seats at the upcoming election if the Albanese government legislates to effectively exempt salmon farming from national environment laws. Conservationists have sharply criticized Anthony Albanese’s pledge to rush through legislation next week to protect the salmon industry in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, from the potential results of a long-running legal review. The legislation has been listed to be introduced in parliament on Tuesday as an amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to end a formal reconsideration by the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, into whether an expansion of fish farming in the harbour in 2012 was properly approved. Plibersek has announced that Labor would commit $250m over five years to help meet its commitment to protect 30% of Australian land by 2030. However, The Wilderness Society said it could lead to the extinction of the Maugean skate, an endangered species endemic to the harbor. Bob Brown warned that this would be “the lowest direct act by a national Labor government against Australia’s environment in memory.”

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/22/bob-brown-greens-labor-environment-law-election-anthony-albanese