PM Rejects Claim He Vetoed a Deal With the Greens for New Environmental Regulation

The prime minister has also had to play down the supposed impact WA’s premier had on negotiations.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition Tanya Plibersek addresses media in the Mural Hall at Parliament House on May 14, 2020 in Canberra, Australia. Today is final day of a special parliamentary sitting, after parliament was adjourned due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Parliament is set to resume in August 2020. Photo by Sam Mooy/Getty Images

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denied overriding a specific deal with the Greens on environmental reforms, insisting that Labor’s plans for a national environmental watchdog remain on track.

His comments during the final sitting week of federal Parliament followed a supposed decision to step in after last-minute negotiations between Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

“Well, we were negotiating through a series of legislation. Forty-five pieces of legislation went through. Not everything did. But what we assured, what we were certain about was that we wouldn’t make major changes,” Albanese told ABC Insiders on Dec. 1.

The proposed reforms included establishing two new agencies: an environmental protection agency to enforce national laws, and an information agency to manage environmental data.

The Epoch Times cannot independently verify this claim.

Western Australian Labor Premier Roger Cook, who presides over resource-heavy state, has said he did lobby the prime minister on any environmental reform bills that could impact mining.

Albanese Rejects Claims of Deal

Albanese repeatedly dismissed claims of a deal, stating he had not seen the draft agreement that Plibersek had reportedly negotiated with Hanson-Young, Greens leader Adam Bandt, and independent Senator David Pocock.

“We were negotiating across the Parliament with the Coalition and the crossbench. Some measures we didn’t agree on were put aside. That was one of them,” he said, adding that discussions with minor parties often involved compromise, but that Labor would not sacrifice its “values.”

The draft agreement, reportedly also included a framework for new national environmental standards applicable to regional forest agreements, saw the Greens concede on their demand to end native forest logging.

Plibersek acknowledged her disappointment over the stalled reforms, saying, “The events were disappointing, but the bill will return to the Senate in February, and I remain hopeful it will gain the support needed to pass.”

Speaking to the media after the deal collapsed, Premier Cook confirmed his role in blocking the reforms.

“I won’t go into the details of private conversations, but I can say I’ve had discussions at the highest level of the federal government,” he said.

Albanese, who described himself as the “negotiator” of the process, said Plibersek had been kept informed despite her absence from critical meetings.

He downplayed the scale of the discussions, saying they likely took “10 to 15 minutes total.”

Greens Senator Calls Environment Protection ‘Unfinished Business’

Greens and crossbench senators proposed amendments to enhance environmental protections, including integrating climate considerations into assessments and closing exemptions for native forest logging under regional forest agreements.

According to Greens Senator Hanson-Young, environmental protection remains the Parliament’s “unfinished business.”

“I want this on the national agenda when Parliament returns,” she told ABC Radio on Dec. 2.

“Nature has waited too long, and nature needs us. The koalas are dying, the parrots are dying, the gliders are dying, and our forests are under constant threat.”

She pointed to the pressure of the mining lobby in Western Australia.

“The prime minister made it very clear over the last few months that he was not going to budge on climate, that he was worried about votes in Western Australia, the pressure of the mining lobby in WA.”

Environment Law Reforms Debated in Parliament

During the final sitting of the Parliament on Nov. 28, Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley questioned Plibersek on whether the government still intended to introduce environmental reforms this term.

In response, Plibersek highlighted Ley’s own tenure as environment minister, noting that while Ley commissioned Professor Graham Samuel’s review of the Act and supported his recommendations, she failed to implement them during her time in office.

Plibersek spoke of the government’s progress, stating that stage two of Labor’s environmental law reform was already before the Senate.

She told Parliament of stage one’s success, establishing the nature repair market and expanding the water trigger.

She also urged the Opposition to back the legislation.

AAP has contributed to the article.