Tanya Plibersek’s nature-fix bill facing extinction

Environment Minister’s nature repair bill is under threat with the Coalition attempting to secure Greens support to delay debate on the Albanese government’s legislation until next year.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. Picture: Martin Ollman / NCA NewsWire

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s nature repair bill is under threat, with the Coalition trying to secure Greens support to delay debate on the Albanese government’s legislation until next year.

Labor’s plan to establish a scheme to incentivise investment in nature restoration projects is likely to hit its first major Senate roadblock on Wednesday, with the opposition’s environment spokesman, Jonno Duniam, due to move a motion to delay debate on the legislation until after the passage of the government’s laws governing environmental approvals.

The Australian can also reveal that Ms Plibersek is actively negotiating with the Coalition in the Senate rather than the Greens to secure passage of Labor’s ­nature repair bill, which will set up a market for biodiversity enabling land-holders, including farmers, to sell credits to investors in exchange for improving the ­environmental credentials of the land.

In a series of amendments seen by The Australian, Labor is seeking to strengthen the integrity of offsets to ensure they cannot be double-counted under the safeguard mechanism and as an environmental offset.

The Coalition introduced a similar bill before the last election and had resolved to support the government’s legislation earlier this year, but it now believes the bill has diverged too far from its own proposal.

With the Coalition opposed, the National Farmers Federation and Minerals Council of Australia have also been privately lobbying the opposition to support the bill through a separate list of proposed amendments.

The Coalition is being urged to support amendments that narrow the scope of the bill to limit the commonwealth’s ability to profit off conservation areas in national parks, as well as increased protections for prime agricultural land.

Senator Duniam told The Australian that Ms Plibersek needed to go back to the drawing board and to ensure that her “considerably delayed changes to the EPBC Act” are released well before her nature repair market bill is debated in the Senate.

“There has been near-universal stakeholder criticism of the Albanese government’s approach to the potential creation of a voluntary national market in bio­diversity certificates,” he said.

“There a multitude of serious problems in this legislation, and key individuals and organisations are extremely frustrated and highly dissatisfied.”

Ms Plibersek, however, accused the Coalition of standing in the way of nature conservation and extra income for farmers and Indigenous communities.

“Once again, the Coalition and Greens are teaming up to say no,” Ms Plibersek said.

“They’re saying no to more protection and repair of nature, and no to extra income for farmers and First Nations.

“This bill is widely supported by environmentalists and farmers alike, from the National Farmers Federation to the WWF.

“They both want to restore their local environments and reward landholders for their good work.

“That’s what this bill will do.”

The Greens may choose to support the Coalition’s push, with party environmental spokes­woman Sarah Hanson-Young previously warning the bill was “irreparable” without stronger environmental reforms, including a climate trigger and an end to native forest logging.

“Without a climate trigger to stop pollution and a ban on native forest logging, the government‘s environment plan is not really an environment plan at all,” Senator Hanson-Young has said.

Labor may also face opposition to the bill from other upper house crossbenchers including independent senator David Pocock, who has significant concerns with the proposed model, including the role of offsets and the need for government investment to establish the market.

The push comes after the ­government’s second phase of workplace reforms was delayed until at least February next year, with the Coalition and key crossbenchers including ACT Senator Pocock and the Jacqui Lambie network quashing Tony Burke’s planned vote ahead of Christmas.