Years of debate about environmental law reform have come down to a tense standoff in the final sitting week of federal parliament for the year, with Labor claiming it can do a deal that will pass the Senate by Thursday.
The government is still pushing to pass its major changes, despite not yet having reached an agreement with either the Greens or the Coalition.
The Greens appear to be inching closer to a deal on updating the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, with the Coalition still refusing to back the changes. But the Minerals Council has joined other peak business groups in urging the Liberals and Nationals to back the changes, with environment minister, Murray Watt, pledging to make a deal with whoever will come to the table first.
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“We will pass these reforms this week with whichever of the Coalition and the Greens is willing to work with us to deliver that balanced package,” Watt said on Sunday.
Greens and Labor sources said they expected the two parties could come to an agreement later in the week, ahead of parliament rising on Thursday afternoon, but the Greens environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, wanted more limits on fossil fuel developments before signing up.
“We also want to make sure we’re not seeing coal and gas fossil fuel projects accelerated,” she told the ABC’s Insiders.
“I think it’s crazy in 2025, you’re talking about a new set of environment laws and it doesn’t even consider the climate pollution that a coal or gas mine makes?”
Despite the 1,500 pages of environmental law reform still being examined by a Senate committee, due to report in March 2026, the government says it wants to ram the bill through parliament by year’s end because it would improve approvals and build times for major parts of its agenda including housing construction, critical minerals sites and green energy projects.
But the Greens and Coalition say they are not convinced of the bill’s urgency. Despite not ruling out a deal later in the week, Greens sources said they didn’t see the need for rushing, noting the ongoing Senate inquiry, and their concerns that the bill could help fast-track approval of coal and gas projects.
Labor, in turn, is pressuring the Greens. Watt held a press conference on Sunday in the Brisbane electorate of Ryan, the last Greens-held seat in the country after the party lost three seats at the May election.
“We saw at the last federal election that the Greens party paid a very big political price for being seen by the Australian people to be blocking progress on important things like housing and environmental law reform,” Watt said.
“There’s a real opportunity for the Greens this week to demonstrate that they have heard the message from the Australian people, that they’re not going to keep blocking progress, that they’re not going to make the perfect the enemy of the good.”
The Liberal party’s finance spokesperson, James Paterson, said on Sunday: “where it stands today, we certainly couldn’t support the proposed legislation.”
He claimed the laws were “deficient” and that the opposition would stick to its earlier demands, daring the government to “do a deal with the Greens and they will wear the consequences of that.”
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Watt has offered concessions to both Greens and Coalition demands.
To the Coalition, Watt has conceded amendments to tighten rules around the National Environmental Protection Agency’s powers, while for the Greens, Labor has offered limits on the “national interest” test being used to approve fossil fuel projects.
On Sunday, Watt extended another olive branch to the Greens, offering to force native forestry projects to comply with national environmental standards within three years. But Hanson-Young wanted more for their support, saying a three-year phase-in was not fast enough.
“It’s 2025 and it’s time we ended native forest logging,” she said.
Corporate groups like the Business Council of Australia have urged the Coalition to back the EPBC changes. The Minerals Council CEO, Tania Constable, added her voice on Sunday, calling for a “sensible compromise by both sides”.
“This will allow our industry to deliver investment, jobs and regional benefits faster,” she said.
