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‘Cannot rush to failure’: Coalition tables make demands ahead of environmental confrontation
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‘Cannot rush to failure’: Coalition tables make demands ahead of environmental confrontation

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The coalition is urging Labor to adopt its “sensible” demands for environmental reform, paving the way for a showdown over the issue in the final week of parliament.
Labor is determined to pass the biggest overhaul of Australia’s environmental laws in 26 years by Christmas, which would require support from the Coalition or the Greens in the Senate.
The ongoing Senate inquiry into the legislation, launched last week, has found that the laws need greater clarity for business and the environment, with stakeholders advising the government not to rush.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is offering a lifeline to Environment Minister Murray Watt, saying the reforms could still be implemented next week if the coalition’s demands are met.

“If passed, we will support the legislation next week,” she said.

“However, if the government rejects sensible suggestions and chooses to put jobs at risk, we will vote against, with an open mind to revisit negotiations next year.
“We will remain constructive and find a way through… But Labor cannot be hasty; Parliament cannot rush to failure here.”

Opposition environment spokesperson Angie Bell has repeatedly insisted the coalition has conducted “negotiations in good faith” but says the laws are “unworkable”, stifling productivity and investment.

Meanwhile, the Greens are critical that the laws do not end logging of native forests, ruling out a climate trigger that would require projects to take into account the impact of climate change.

What is the coalition demanding?

Under the laws, Watt wants to create the country’s first-ever National Environmental Protection Agency, charged with ensuring compliance.
However, the Coalition states that all powers relating to the assessment or approval of projects should remain with the minister, and not with a regulator.

The opposition is seeking a concise and workable definition of the unacceptable impact test for highly polluting projects, with the current proposal being complicated and offering the prospect of too many rejections.

Likewise, it calls for a clearer definition for the industry of what constitutes a net profit, or parameters to demonstrate how the project minimizes damage or improves the environment.
The changes include a review of penalties under the new laws, including fines of up to $825 million for violations of environmental regulations.

The abolition of existing streamlined project approval pathways and new emissions reporting requirements are also of concern.

‘Take your time’: group echo alert

Many of these demands are echoed by business groups, who are calling for consensus and bipartisan support for the laws to ensure lasting reforms.
Speaking to the Senate inquiry on Thursday, Business Council of Australia CEO Bran Black said the government must “take its time to get the right amendments”.

“What we are concerned about is that the existing definitions of unacceptable impact do everything except increase vagueness,” he told the committee.

Environmental groups have urged the government not to shy away from the industry, saying definitions should be based on what science says.
Josie Douglas, chief executive of the Central Land Council, urged the government to wait until March next year and not “repeat the mistakes of the past”.
“It is a truncated process and the bill is being rushed through without the public or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups having an opportunity to provide input and feedback,” she told SBS News.
Adding that the “changes should ensure that the bill is strengthened and not diluted and not weakened.”

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