Business leaders tell Coalition to keep environment bill whole

Business representatives are urging the Coalition to drop its demand the Government split up an overhaul of environmental law reforms, saying keeping everything on the table at once will deliver the best outcome.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley wrote to Anthony Albanese on Sunday calling for the legislation – which is yet to be revealed in full – to be split in two and separate the measures to streamline approvals from stronger environmental protections.

Environment Minister Murray Watt on Monday morning dismissed this as a “silly idea”.

The existing Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is widely regarded as not working for either the environment or people trying to get projects approved, including large-scale renewables, housing developments and critical minerals mines.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said that at the moment, “the sluggishness of the process … is being used as a proxy for environmental protection” which was clearly not the intention.

The business group has concerns with draft elements of the new legislation released so far, including the broad definitions of “unacceptable impacts” from a project and net gain requirement on environmental offsets, stop work orders, and mandating disclosure of emissions information.

But Mr Black said he was “very firmly of the view that there is a window open now for reform” and called on legislators to step up.

“We favour having everything on the table at the same time, and we think that that approach assures us the best basis for getting the right balanced outcome that ultimately secures benefits to the environment and for business,” he said.

“To get that balance right, we need the parties of government to come together and pass this legislation, that is the way that we can go about delivering the longevity that these reforms require.”

He will put that position directly to senior Coalition members in Canberra this week.

Senator Watt said splitting the bill would be cherry-picking whether to prioritise gains for business or the environment.

Ms Ley made a similar point when she was environment minister under Scott Morrison and commissioned the EPBC review.

“Why has she changed her mind now that she’s become the Opposition Leader?,” Senator Watt said.

“It’s because she’s desperately trying to shore up her leadership ahead of some very difficult net zero conversations with her party room this week.

“Sussan Ley is in danger of putting her own leadership ahead of the environment and ahead of business. We can’t split the bill. We need to do both.”

Shadow frontbencher Maria Kovacic accused Senator Watt of “choosing to actually concede to extreme fringe green groups instead of considering what’s best for Australia and Australians and Australian business” by refusing to split the bill.

“What we have a problem with is where we are looking at pecuniary penalties, some of the harshest in the world that do nothing to actually help the environment,” she said.

The legislation is expected to be introduced to Parliament later this week, ahead of Senator Watt speaking at the National Press Club on Thursday.

The Coalition and Greens have been given elements of the draft bill, as have environment and industry stakeholders, but other crossbenchers in both houses said they had not seen anything yet.