Sussan Ley draws battlelines over Albanese’s environmental overhaul plan

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has rejected key elements of Labor’s planned environmental protection overhaul, closing the door to a quick deal on landmark plans to revamp nature laws and speed up approvals for projects including housing, mines and green energy.

The first version of the bill was killed off last term after blowback from miners and the pro-fossil fuel West Australian government prompted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to put negotiations with the Greens on ice.

Labor resurrected the push to boost productivity by speeding up approvals for big projects after it emerged from Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ economic roundtable in August as one of the few reforms with widespread support.

Details of the proposed changes leaked on Wednesday, including major new proposed fines and confirmation it does not include a “climate trigger” that could stop coal and gas projects, sparking a mixed reaction from green and business groups.

Ley said the planned laws would not speed up approvals, warning investors would “walk away and choose to invest in another country” as she set up a fight in parliament, which resumes next week.

Under pressure from right-wing colleagues to ditch the 2050 net zero target, Ley said she was also opposed to Labor’s proposal to force proponents of big projects to display how they would reduce emissions.

“There’s nothing in what has been said today that gives investors or the Coalition confidence that this government actually understands what the problem is and has a plan to address it,” she said in Sydney, calling the situation a “basket case”.

Ley, a former environment minister who tried to streamline the same laws, said projects such as the landmark critical minerals deal inked with the US this week would rely on swift approvals under the law.

Ley did not rule out ever voting for the government’s proposal, but her opposition to the law as it stands raises the prospect of the government attempting to again work with the Greens or negotiating further with the Coalition once details of the bill have been unveiled next week.

Environment Minister Murray Watt told Sky News on Thursday that he had encouraged business groups to lobby the opposition to pass the laws, and asked that environment groups do the same for the Greens.

“I don’t rule out the possibility that we can ultimately get support from both the Coalition and the Greens for this bill,” Watt said. “I know we’re a long way from that at the moment, but there are real improvements for business and the environment against this bill.”

Business groups’ concerns include a proposal to empower a minister to block a proposed development ahead of being assessed if it posed an “unacceptable impact” to the environment. The current environmental laws already include a similar but vaguely worded provision to block “clearly unacceptable” proposals, which was used by Ley as environment minister to reject a mega renewable project in the Pilbara in 2021. The new laws would spell out the criteria for unacceptable impact in detail, such destruction of an endangered species or World Heritage site.

Watt said on Wednesday that another concern of business groups – the need for proponents of big-emitting projects to display how they would reduce emissions in line with the Samuel review recommendations – was not the same as a contentious Greens-backed “climate trigger” the government was negotiating over in the previous bill.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young indicated the government would need to amend the bill to make it more pro-environment to win the minor party’s support.

“What’s been put on the table right now doesn’t pass the pub test of protecting nature,” she told the ABC.

The federal government has been briefing stakeholders including industry groups such as AI Group and Business Council of Australia and environmental advocates such as Greenpeace, Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and World Wildlife Fund. On Wednesday, the government began sharing extracts of draft legislation.

ACF acting chief executive Paul Sinclair said there were significant improvements, especially in the area of enforcement. That includes fines based on the size of the company at fault – up to $825 million – plus the removal of any financial advantage obtained.

“Since about 2011, there’s been about $230,000 worth of fines for breaches of our national environment laws,” Sinclair said. “There are some local government areas that collect more parking fines in a single year … and that’s a disgrace.”

There is no draft wording yet on the creation of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the division of powers between the body and the minister, which proved a sticking point when former environment minister Tanya Plibersek tried to pass legislation in the last parliament.

An industry observer who requested anonymity to discuss the confidential briefing said one of the biggest wins for business would be that environmental assessments done for regional planning purposes would not have to be redone for an individual project, which would streamline processes. He said extra fines would be a worthwhile trade-off for this outcome because it could shave years off the approval process.

AI Group, which represents sectors including manufacturing, and the BCA, which represents the country’s largest companies, declined to comment.

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