Labor path to pass nature laws in last week narrows
Labor faces an uphill battle trying to reach a deal in the Senate to pass major environmental law reforms.
Resistance from the Greens and the coalition means the proposed changes are unlikely to be accepted this week, the last sitting week of the year, although Environment Minister Murray Watt remains confident they will be passed.
While the coalition is understood to be pouring cold water on the prospect of an imminent deal, the Greens say the government’s proposals to change the law have fallen short.
Meanwhile, environmentalists have urged Labor not to side with the coalition to pass the reforms.
Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O’Shanassy said negotiations were at a critical stage and a deal with the coalition would weaken “already bad legislation”.
“(Labour) should only negotiate with parties that want to protect nature,” he said.
“The minimum they can do is to ensure that coal and gas projects submitted for consideration are actually assessed for their climate impact.”
ACF says the new law will take Australia backwards by expanding the minister’s discretion over contentious projects such as coal and gas if the national interest is taken into account.
But Ms O’Shanassy said siding with the coalition would be a “disaster” for nature as it would lead to a weakening of already bad legislation.
Labor has extended an olive branch to the Greens, offering to prevent the controversial “national interest” exemption being used to approve coal and gas projects if the party agrees to support nature laws.
Greens leader Larissa Waters said the changes were “welcomed” but not enough to win her support.
The coalition has proposed amendments to limit “stop work” orders and wants to introduce a requirement to declare that a project’s carbon dioxide emissions will be discharged.
Liberal MP Leon Rebello admitted he had not read the entire 1,500-page bill and said the legislation should not be rushed.
Mr Rebello told Sky News: “The fact that they have tried to rush the issue over the last two sitting weeks is an indication that they are not ready to come forward and discuss it.”
Senator Watt said, based on talks over the weekend, he was “very confident” a deal could be reached within the time frame he wanted.
Veteran environmentalist and Greens co-founder Bob Brown criticized the proposed laws and said the proposed changes did not go far enough.
He used logging in Tasmania as an example of destruction that Labor could “stop tomorrow”.
“It’s the biggest reason why everything from koalas to larger gliders, from endangered swift parrots to Tasmanian devils, is disappearing,” Mr Brown said.
“But the industry is funded and subsidized by Canberra.”
Labor wants to pass the legislation before the end of the year, but the senate committee examining the legislation is not expected to report back until March 2026.
The government says the reforms, which would establish an Environmental Protection Agency, would deliver stronger environmental protections, more effective assessments and approvals and greater accountability.
The Minister of Environment will have the final say on rejecting project developments that are thought to cause serious harm to nature or approving projects that are in the “national interest”.
Australia’s Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national news channel and has been providing accurate, reliable and fast-paced news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We inform Australia.
