COMMENTARY: Put nature first: The only veto that matters

Our planning laws treat nature as a resource to be managed. It’s time to recognize that our well-being is inseparable from the health of the natural world. For decades, environmental assessments have been a box-ticking exercise. We ask: What is the impact? We demand: How will you mitigate it? But in this era of ecological collapse, biodiversity and climate change these questions are dangerously…