Big business declares war on the community: Greens

Today's call to strip down environmental processes and fast track everything - mining mega-developments to shopping centres - is a war on the Australian people's quality of life and the environment by the big end of town, Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

"The idea of not providing protections for wild and scenic Australia as the big mining corporations roll in and do what they like will horrify Australians who respect this nation's wildlife and scenic beauty," Senator Brown said.

"These big corporations, many foreign owned, want to bulldoze decades of environmental law which is too flimsy and inadequately policed as it is. Let's streamline environmental laws by making them tougher and protective of the natural values of this nation.

"The prospect of six mega coal ports inside the Great Barrier Reef, and the Minister for the Environment Tony Burke recommending world heritage areas as a dumping ground for dredging spoil, demonstrates the inadequacy of Australia's national laws on the environment right now, let alone any further weakening," Senator Brown said.