Ed Husic was out on this very early from within the Labor caucus. Why? Well, there is nothing stopping it from being used whenever a government decides it needs to pass a project:

157L Grounds for grant of national interest exemption

(1) Before granting a national interest exemption for an action from a provision of Part 3 or this Chapter, the Minister must be satisfied that:

…

(c) it is in the national interest that the provision not apply to the taking of the action by the person to whom the exemption is to apply.

…

(3) In determining the national interest for the purposes of a provision of this Division, the Minister may consider:

(a) Australia’s defence or security; or

(b) a national emergency, including an emergency to which a national emergency declaration (within the meaning of the National Emergency Declaration Act 2020) relates.

This does not limit the matters the Minister may consider.