Labor’s nature laws risk collapse with deal yet to be struck on eve of parliament’s final sitting day | Australian politics

Anthony Albanese has yet to agree a deal to rewrite federal natural laws ahead of parliament’s last sitting day of the year, leaving long-promised reforms at risk of collapse for the second time in 12 months.

But political, industry and environmental movement sources expect the Greens will eventually agree to an 11th-hour compromise after Labor offered new concessions to secure the support of the minor party.

The government was locked in tense negotiations with the Greens and the Coalition on Wednesday as it struggled to meet a self-imposed deadline to overhaul the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act before parliament’s summer recess.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese became involved in negotiations, meeting directly with his Greens counterpart Larissa Waters, in a bid to resolve the dispute.

Albanese’s active role in cross-party talks on legislation is usually a sign that negotiations have reached a final point.

Government sources confirmed no deal had been made as of Wednesday night.

While environment minister Murray Watt has met again with his Liberal counterpart Angie Bell, the prime minister had yet to hold leader-to-leader talks with Sussan Ley as of Wednesday night.

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Watt’s meeting with Bell showed that the government remained open to a possible agreement with the Coalition; but this option was considered less likely after Ley criticized Labor’s offer to them as “wholly inadequate”.

Guardian Australia understands the opposition demanded additional business-friendly changes on Wednesday, further complicating the prospect of a last-minute deal between the major parties.

After an initial package of concessions that included measures to effectively prevent the rapid progress of coal and gas projects failed to convince the Greens, the government offered further changes to the junior party on Wednesday.

Guardian Australia has not seen the revised proposal and neither the Greens nor the government will confirm details of the updated proposal.

The Green party met on Wednesday to discuss a position.

Inspired by Graeme Samuel’s review of the EPBC Act 2020, the bill promises to better protect nature with new environmental standards and also speed up project evaluations.

It will also create a new environmental protection agency, a Labor election promise made in the last two federal votes.

The bill was subjected to intense criticism from all quarters. Environmentalists warn that the extinction crisis cannot be properly tackled, while the industry fears certain features could rule out projects, particularly the proposed new “unacceptable impact”.

If Labor cannot reach a deal on Thursday, it would be the second time in 12 months that planned reforms to the EPBC Act have been scrapped.

In the last term of parliament, former environment minister Tanya Plibersek proposed a phased approach to reforms and introduced legislation to establish an environmental protection agency.

But while Plibersek was on the verge of a deal with the Greens and independent senator David Pocock, the bill was vetoed by the prime minister after pressure from the Western Australian government and the mining industry.

Albanese opposed reintroducing the bill ahead of May’s federal election and postponed the reform mandate until he returns to power.

The Working Environment Action Network (LEAN), which has been campaigning to fix the EPBC Act for years, said in an email to supporters on Wednesday that it preferred the government to cooperate with the Greens.

“The Greens’ offer includes many of LEAN’s core demands and we hope it will be the way forward. The Coalition’s offer, although clearly inferior, does not weaken Labor legislation to catastrophic levels,” the email, seen by Guardian Australia, said.

“While we are understandably nervous, we remain positive and know many of you feel the same.”