Robert Millner’s had a gutful. The long-time chairman of four ASX-listed companies, together worth more than $20 billion combined and a billionaire in his own right, thinks Australia is doing what it can to waste a blessed financial and economic position built up by decades of economic growth.

What really has a bee in his bonnet is the government’s proposed “nature-positive” reforms. The laws are pitched as well intended – better protect the environment, allow for faster decision-making and restore integrity and trust in environmental laws – but are wrapped up in a veil of secrecy that has Millner and other senior business leaders and investors fearing the worst.