Environment groups say Coalition plan to bypass federal approvals a ‘step towards industry free-for-all’

Resources minister Keith Pitt has signalled he wants the Bowen basin, a major coal-producing region, to be considered for a plan to reduce environmental bureaucracy. Photograph: Reuters

Environment groups have described a Morrison government plan to remove the need for federal environmental approval for developments in some regions as a “step towards an industry free-for-all” rather than an effort to protect nature.

The government announced on Monday night it would use a little-known section of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act to establish what are known as regional plans.