Labor pledges to pass long-awaited nature laws this week as Greens demand more concessions | Australian politics

Years of debate over environmental law reform have descended into a tense impasse in the federal parliament’s final sitting week of the year, with Labor claiming it could get a deal through the Senate by Thursday.

The government is still trying to pass major changes, although it has yet to reach an agreement with the Greens or the Coalition.

While the Greens are inching closer to a deal on updating the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, the Coalition still refuses to support the changes. But the Minerals Council, along with other leading business groups calling on the Liberals and Nationals to support the changes, has also promised to strike a deal with whoever comes to the table first with environment minister Murray Watt.

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“We will pass these reforms this week with whomever the Coalition and the Greens are willing to work with us to deliver a balanced package,” Watt said on Sunday.

Greens and Labor sources said they expected the two parties to reach an agreement within the week before parliament meets on Thursday afternoon, but Greens environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said she wanted more limits on fossil fuel development before signing off.

“We also want to make sure that we don’t see an acceleration of coal and gas fossil fuel projects,” he told ABC’s Insiders.

“I think 2025 is crazy; you’re talking about a new set of environmental laws that don’t even take into account climate pollution from coal or gas mines?”

Although the 1,500-page environmental law reform is still being considered by a Senate committee, the government says it wants to pass the bill through parliament by the end of the year because it would improve approvals and create time for key parts of its agenda, including housing construction, critical mining sites and green energy projects, according to a March 2026 report.

However, the Greens and the Coalition say they are not convinced about the urgency of the bill. Although they did not rule out the possibility of a deal later in the week, Greens sources said they saw no need to rush, noting the ongoing Senate investigation and concerns that the bill could help speed up approval of coal and gas projects.

Labor is also putting pressure on the Greens. Watt held a press conference on Sunday in Ryan’s Brisbane constituency, the last seat held by the Greens after the party lost three seats in the May election.

“We saw at the last federal election that the Green party paid a huge political price for being seen by the Australian public as hindering progress on important issues such as housing and environmental law reform,” Watt said.

“There is a real opportunity for the Greens this week to show that they have heard the message of the Australian people, that they will not continue to block progress, that they will not make the perfect the enemy of the good.”

James Paterson, the Liberal party’s finance spokesman, said on Sunday: “As it stands today, we simply cannot support the proposed legislation.”

He claimed the laws were “inadequate” and that the opposition would stick to its previous demands, encouraging the government to “make a deal with the Greens and suffer the consequences”.

Watt offered concessions to the demands of both the Greens and the Coalition.

According to the coalition, Watt agreed to changes to tighten the rules on the powers of the National Environmental Protection Agency, while Labor proposed for the Greens to impose limits on the “national interest” test used to approve fossil fuel projects.

On Sunday Watt extended another olive branch to the Greens, proposing that local forestry projects be forced to comply with national environmental standards within three years. But Hanson-Young called for more of their support, saying the three-year phase-in was not fast enough.

“The year is 2025 and it is time for us to end native forest logging,” he said.

Corporate groups such as the Business Council of Australia have called on the Coalition to support the EPBC changes. Minerals Council chief executive Tania Constable added her voice on Sunday, calling for “both sides to reach a reasonable compromise”.

“This will allow our sector to deliver investment, employment and regional benefits more quickly,” he said.