Company linked to Angus Taylor offered ‘generous’ offset calculation after illegal land clearing, FoI letters reveal

Exclusive: Experts say legislation is ‘broken’ when it’s cheaper for landholders to break the law than it is to apply for permits

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A company connected to former federal energy minister Angus Taylor that was ordered to restore critically endangered grasslands was asked to do less than would have been required if it had sought approval before it poisoned them.

The federal environment department’s efforts to reach an agreement with Jam Land to compensate for the 28.5 hectares of clearing on a property in the New South Wales Monaro region are revealed in new documents released to Guardian Australia after a four-year freedom of information battle.

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