Labor strikes deal with Greens on nature laws overhaul amid criticism ‘dirty deal’ being ‘rammed through’

Deal to rewrite the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act marks end to five-year struggle to fix broken system

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Labor has struck a deal with the Greens to overhaul federal environmental protection laws on parliament's final sitting day of the year, ending a five-year struggle to deliver on Graeme Samuel's blueprint to fix the broken system.

The Greens agreed to support Labor's long-awaited rewrite of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act after securing key concessions from the government but the opposition and the independent senator David Pocock were critical the bills were being rushed through the Senate on Thursday.