Showdown on green reforms as Labor faces heat on Optus
Controversial environmental reforms proposed by Labor face obstacles because neither the coalition nor the Greens have yet backed the changes.
Federal parliament will restart for two weeks from Monday, with the government in victory mode after a successful first meeting between Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump.
The Prime Minister will not be there this week as he flies to Malaysia for the ASEAN summit, then flies to South Korea for APEC, where Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet.
The two leaders will likely discuss the US president’s trade war. They may also talk about security issues, such as Taiwan, which China claims is its own territory.
“One in four jobs in Australia rely on trade and we will focus on continuing to develop our core economic and trade relationships during ASEAN and APEC,” Mr Albanese said on Sunday.
Labor’s bid to introduce long-awaited changes, including the creation of the first national Environmental Protection Agency, is not guaranteed because it lacks the numbers it needs to push through the legislation in the Senate.
Environment Minister Murray Watt said he was “absolutely happy” to defend the bill.
“What we’re trying to do through these reforms is to deliver a balanced package that delivers real improvements for our natural environment and real improvements for business,” he told Sky News.
The reforms include tougher penalties and enforcement powers, such as fines of up to $825 million for breaches of environmental protection and biodiversity laws.
The bill will eliminate red tape by simplifying processes for faster approval of housing and energy projects.
The government looks set to come under fire from the coalition over its handling of last month’s triple zero outage at the hands of Optus, which was linked to three deaths.
The Greens are confident they have the support needed to launch a parliamentary inquiry into next week’s deadly power outage.
If it rises, Optus executives can expect an uncomfortable debate about the tragic failure.
The government’s efforts to rush through legislation to create a watchdog for emergency call networks are also likely to be attacked by the opposition and opponents as being too late.
Major questions remain about the future of Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, who is mulling over an invitation to join Pauline Hanson’s far-right party One Nation.
Mr Joyce, who remained in the national competition, said his relationship with leader David Littleproud had broken down beyond repair.
The National Party has yet to state their position on net zero emissions by 2050; This risks splitting again the coalition that had previously split from the Liberals in response to the disastrous federal election on May 3.
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan could not confirm on Sunday whether a review of the matter had been completed.
“There’s been a lot of work done on this,” he told Insiders.
“I think the National Party is committed to seeking a better deal for Australians. We’re not getting a good deal from net zero at the moment.”
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