Labor's Environmental Dilemma: Will New Laws Revitalize Australia's Green Future by Christmas?

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Labor is determined to deliver the largest reform to Australia’s environmental laws in 26 years by Christmas, in the key test for Environment Minister Murray Watt.

The federal government is anticipating that the tranche of reforms, to be tabled in parliament on Thursday morning, will be sent to a Senate inquiry.

However, it remains confident it can reach its Christmas deadline by striking a deal with the Coalition or the Greens, both of which remain viable options as discussions continue.

For five years, discussions on legislative reforms have been swirling around parliament. These talks were ignited by a 2020 review conducted by Graeme Samuel, which highlighted environmental setbacks that have since worsened, according to Watt.

“If we can’t get a deal by Christmas, then I think that will be a real indictment on the Coalition and the Greens,” he told SBS News, although he did not elaborate on what the government might do if it fails to pass them by then.

“It will be another demonstration that they haven’t heard the message from the last election, which was that people wanted to see parties working together to produce outcomes rather than blocking progress.”

The government estimates the reforms could inject up to $7 billion into the economy, according to analysis by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water of Australia.

Amidst this backdrop, there’s an urgent push to understand the proposed changes and the major concerns surrounding them. At the heart of this legislative overhaul are more stringent penalties for breaches of environmental regulations, with fines potentially reaching as high as $825 million.

Central to the government’s strategy is the creation of the nation’s inaugural National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA). This agency will be responsible for ensuring strict adherence to the new laws and enhancing transparency and accountability in environmental governance.

It’s Labor’s second attempt at reforming the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, after Watt’s predecessor, Tanya Plibersek, failed to strike a deal last term.

Labor says the overhaul, split into seven bills, will largely follow recommendations from the Samuel Review, tabled by then-environment minister and current Opposition leader Sussan Ley.

The introduction of national environmental standards will give clear parameters about what needs to be done to protect nature and receive project approval.

The proposed changes include an “unacceptable impact” test for high-polluting projects, requiring companies to disclose expected emissions and set up carbon abatement plans.

One contentious point in the reform discussions is the climate trigger advocated by the Greens. However, the government has drawn a firm line against this, preferring instead the approach recommended by the Samuel Review, which calls for mandatory emissions disclosure.

The government says the reforms will create more efficient assessments, cutting down approval times from decades to years, years to months.

This is partially due to the new system of accreditation, where bilateral agreements will be struck with states and territories, allowing them the capacity to make assessments under the new national standards.

Slow approval times for projects, including the duplication of processes across state and federal governments, have been partially blamed for holding up renewable energy projects as well as the mining of minerals that will allow Australia to compete with China.

The government plans to establish the nation’s first-ever National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), tasked with ensuring compliance under the proposed new laws and greater accountability.

The environment minister will have the power to reject project developments if they are deemed to do serious damage to nature or push through projects in “the national interest”.

There will be a 28-day time limit to challenge the minister’s decision, during which work can continue.

Labor has also committed to providing standards for engaging with First Nations people, ensuring they are consulted early on.

The government’s only red line so far is a climate trigger proposed by the Greens, with the reforms instead opting to require an emissions disclosure as advised by the Samuel Review.

What are the Coalition and Greens’ concerns?

The Coalition argues that the reforms in their current form are unworkable.

They have raised specific concerns about the NEPA’s authority, requesting that its CEO be accountable to the minister.

They are also seeking clarity around the net gain definition, which would require developers to show they’ve tried to avoid and mitigate impacts on nature before buying offsets.

Opposition environment spokesperson Angie Bell is focused on ensuring reforms streamline approvals and give certainty to business, while “improving environmental protections”.

Meanwhile, the Greens argue the reforms are catering to big business and creating more loopholes that weaken environmental protections.

They are critical of the environment minister having power to fast-track projects in the national interest, with concerns that it’s a loophole for more damaging coal, gas and logging projects.

Greens leader Larissa Waters says the party is still open to negotiations with Labor as long as the reforms “work for nature”, but warns they’re “riddled with loopholes”.

“Rather than fix those loopholes, the proposal by this environment minister under this government is to add additional loopholes and yet more fast-track mechanisms for coal and gas,” she said.

They’ve also highlighted that the new laws do not address native forest logging, with deforestation a major driver of species extinction and carbon emissions.