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Labor has struck a deal with the Greens to pass the largest reforms to Australia’s environmental laws in 26 years.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced at a press conference on Thursday morning that the government’s law reforms would pass parliament later in the day.
It comes more than five years after professor Graeme Samuel delivered his landmark review of Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act in 2020.
“This is a landmark day for the environment in this country,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra.
The Senate is poised to approve seven significant bills on the last day of this year’s parliamentary session, following their earlier passage in the lower house.
The environment minister will continue to hold authority over the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) approvals.
The reforms include new environmental standards to guide project decisions based on environmental impacts and changing the thresholds for accepting or rejecting high-polluting projects.
A national Environment Protection Agency (EPA) will be set up, and there will be higher penalties for serious breaches of environmental law.
Prime Minister Albanese announced the creation of a $300 million forestry growth fund, aimed at bolstering employment opportunities within the sector.
Stricter rules will be imposed on land clearing and native forest logging, and companies will need to disclose the greenhouse gas emissions expected from projects when they submit them for approval.
Coal and gas projects will not be eligible for “fast-tracking” and will also require federal approval for their water use.
“We’ve halted the fossil fuel industry’s ability to swiftly obtain environmental approvals,” he stated.
‘Tough’ negotiations
Environment Minister Murray Watt said the passage of the laws had been “years in the making”.
In the concessions sent on Tuesday, seen by SBS News, Labor addressed the Greens’ concerns about coal and gas expansion by limiting the fast-tracking of fossil fuel projects and excluding the expansion of coal and gas from the national interest exemption.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young told ABC on Thursday morning that there had been “tough negotiation” with Labor over the reforms.
“We’ve put a stop to the fossil fuel industry getting fast track and easy access to environmental approvals.”
When asked about negotiations with the Coalition, Watt told reporters the Opposition is “in shambles” when it comes to policy.
“The Coalition is a shambles, and they’ve been a shambles on these negotiations as well,” he said.
“You can’t strike a deal with someone who doesn’t know what they want.”
Watt said he has “great confidence” in the laws after working with the Greens.
“That gives me confidence that these laws will work for both the environment and for business,” he said.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley described the Labor-Greens partnership as a “dirty deal” that will impact cost of living.
“This is going to put energy prices up and provide further pressure on electricity bills for struggling households and families, for the simple reason that the Greens have got what they want,” Ley said.
She said “good faith” conversations between the Coalition and Labor had been taking place until 9:30pm on Wednesday night.
— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
