Biodiversity offsets didn’t work in NSW. Will Labor make the same mistake nationwide?

Environmental offsets allow developers to compensate for damage they cause by restoring habitat elsewhere, for example, of bushland crucial for endangered species such as koalas. Photograph: Penny Stephens/The Guardian

The federal government risks repeating grievous mistakes made in NSW with its proposals to change the way developers compensate for damage to the environment, scientists and legal experts have warned.

As the Coalition tears itself apart again over climate, Labor’s plan to overhaul biodiversity offsets – and nature laws more broadly – has coasted under the radar with comparatively little scrutiny.