PM’s salmon legislation to sidestep minister, wedge Coalition in budget week

Anthony Albanese will use budget week to introduce legislation to neutralise a stand-off over salmon farming in Tasmania – and his Environment Minister – with national implications.

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Anthony Albanese will use budget week to shore up salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour, neutering his Environment Minister and seeking to bolster Labor’s position in key Tasmanian battleground seats.

The Prime Minister’s office confirmed to The Australian that Labor would move in next week’s sitting of parliament to effectively negate a threat to aquaculture in the remote western harbour posed by a protracted approvals review by Tanya Plibersek.

A spokeswoman for Mr Albanese also appeared to confirm the changes would have broader implications across other industries by cracking down on the ability of green groups to trigger such reviews.

And Labor sparked a war of words with the Coalition by calling for “bipartisanship” on the reforms, after months of allegedly ignoring requests for a joint approach.

“The government will legislate in the coming parliamentary sitting week to amend the flawed Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to secure jobs and local industries,” Mr Albanese’s spokeswoman said. “We call on the Coalition to give this legislation bipartisan support to give communities certainty.”

A Maugean skate in Macquarie Harbour.

Mr Albanese’s office declined to provide details of the legislation which, as of Wednesday afternoon, had yet to be shared with the industry or the opposition.

Ms Plibersek has been reconsidering 2012 federal environmental approval for aquaculture in the harbour since November 2023, when she accepted requests for a rethink from The Australia Institute and the Bob Brown Foundation.

Her decision followed concerns – backed by official scientific advice – that low water oxygen levels partly linked to fish farms were having a “catastrophic” impact on the harbour’s endangered Maugean skate.

Documents emerged this week under Freedom of Information laws showing Ms Plibersek’s department believed it “likely” the review would result in fish farms being declared a “controlled action”, requiring a full environmental impact statement.

However, no decision either way has eventuated, creating uncertainty for the $1.46bn industry, which points to more positive recent scientific findings on the skate to argue that its impact is manageable. It says legislation to guarantee it can continue to operate fish pens in Macquarie Harbour is totally unnecessary, with the issue best resolved by Ms Plibersek making a “long-overdue” decision.

Mr Albanese has insisted he cannot order Ms Plibersek to make a decision and has instead backed a legislative fix.

His comments to The Australian referencing the EPBC Act and “industries” suggests he has opted against legislation specific to the salmon industry.

It appears Mr Albanese has landed on broader changes to the EPBC Act that could retrospectively curtail the ability of third parties, such as green groups, to request reconsiderations of historic decisions by an environment minister.

This is broadly in line with changes proposed by the ­Coalition, which would restrict the timeframe in which such requests could be made to one year from the initial decision. Some within the Coalition are understood to oppose retrospectivity.

Another option would be to limit the changes to industries involving livestock.

Tassal salmon pens on Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania. Picture: NewsWire

The changes should win opposition support, vital to its passage in the Senate.

The Coalition’s environment spokes­man and Tasmanian senator Jonno Duniam said it was the “height of arrogance” for Mr Albanese to demand bipartisanship on changes he had for months refused to discuss.

“The Coalition has written to the government on three separate occasions this year alone, calling on them to provide the draft legislation to the Coalition so we can move forward in a bipartisan manner,” he told The Australian. “We have not heard a word.

“For the PM to go to the media first to call on the Coalition to support a bill we haven’t even seen is the height of arrogance. It is disrespectful to salmon workers and it is disrespectful to our state.

“In the interests of the community, we want to pass salmon laws to see these jobs saved but the legislation needs to be right and it needs to be done a bipartisan manner.”

The salmon industry is keen for the longstanding standoff to be resolved but is worried the legislation could be derailed by politicking. There is also concern any poor drafting would see the new laws immediately challenged in court by green groups, creating more uncertainty.

Salmon Tasmania said as of late Wednesday it was yet to see the legislation but it was “very keen to see a resolution”.

ST chief executive Luke Martin said changes to the EPBC Act were justified. “Clearly, this whole process has shown a significant flaw in the EPBC legislation that allows third parties to trigger reviews into decisions made over a decade ago,” he said. “That exposes significant sovereign risk issues for our industry and all industries. That is something the parliament needs to resolve.”

The BBF and The Australia Institute, which flagged a rally in Hobart on the issue on Thursday, said the saga demonstrated the need to tighten, not loosen, environment laws.

“The situation in Macquarie Harbour … is a perfect example of why Australia needs stronger environment laws, not to water down already inadequate protections,” said Institute Tasmania director Eloise Carr.

Labor sees Tasmania as a key battleground, hoping to retain the ultra-marginal seat of Lyons, while believing it has a shot at regaining northern Bass and Braddon from the Liberals.