Greens and Senate crossbenchers want deal on Environment Protection Australia

Anthony Albanese is under pressure to strike an agreement to establish a federal environmental watchdog, as the Coalition warns ‘significant amendments’ are required.

Independent Lidia Thorpe, Greens leader Adam Bandt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The Greens and Senate crossbenchers are demanding ­Anthony Albanese strike a deal with them to establish a federal environmental watchdog as the Coalition warns “significant amendments” are required to make the reforms acceptable.

Labor’s environmental wing is also urging the Prime Minister to deliver stronger laws to protect threatened species, forests and world heritage sites, agreeing with government senators scrutinising the bills that they must include new national environmental standards to deliver tangible outcomes.

The government was quick to reject environmental standards becoming part of the bills, with sources saying its position ­remained unchanged.

While the government’s environmental overhaul has been friendless, Greens environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the Prime Minister was “rolling out the red carpet for Gina Rinehart and the fossil fuel industry, but he doesn’t have to”.

Mr Albanese made a concession in Western Australia last week to weaken his green cop, to be known as Environment Protection Australia, by removing its decision-making powers in a failed attempt to win over the Coalition.

As well as ensuring EPA’s independence, the Greens and Senate crossbenchers David ­Pocock and Lidia Thorpe want the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to assess land clearing to try to stop native forest logging, climate considerations included in environmental assessments and ­decision-making, and a greater inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in environmental governance and decision-making, which was backed by government senators.

“We are open to creative and genuine attempts from the government to reduce pollution and to stop the logging,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

“It is crazy that you can have a stamp of approval from the country’s environment minister and not even consider or take into account or be worried about the climate damage of a big mine or a gas expansion … The government needs to act. Our door is open and we’re up for talking.”

Senator Pocock added: “The crossbench isn’t even asking for a climate trigger. They are simply asking for consideration of climate in our national environmental laws.”

But opposition environment spokesman Jonno Duniam lashed the government’s nature-positive agenda and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s handling of the portfolio, confirming he had made it known to the government that proposed amendments didn’t go far enough.

The Coalition is opposed to the bills in their current form and wants changes around the role of the EPA’s chief executive and penalty regime, as well as the introduction of the full overhaul of the EPBC Act, amid growing expectation it will be delayed until after the election.

The opposition used the Senate committee process to recommend the passage of the EPA and Environment Information Australia, a body to provide environmental data, be delayed until “after the finalisation of Labor’s promised wider overhaul of the EPBC Act”.

“A federal EPA is an added layer of bureaucracy that is the last thing our economy and environment needs. This is still just a new bureaucracy simply to ­administer broken laws,” Senator Duniam said.

Labor Environment Action Network national co-convener Felicity Wade said new national environmental standards needed to be included.

The EPA and EIA were important but “not enough”.

“Standards are the tool for creating a rules-based order. They define what you are trying to protect and how,” she said.

LEAN joined with the Greens and crossbenchers in calling for the EPA to be given the power to audit regional forest agreements, which are the responsibility of the states, in a bid to crack down on the environmental impact of native forest logging.