Labor nears deal on historic environmental law overhawl as Greens talks hit final stage

Labor is expected to strike a deal on its historic overhaul of environmental laws as negotiations reach a pointy end.

Greens leader Larissa Waters and environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the Greens were provided with amendments to the laws, drafted to secure their support.

Labor has remained optimistic an agreement will be struck with either the Greens or the Coalition to pass the laws by the end of the year.

An agreement must be struck by Thursday if the 1500-page package of bills is to be tabled in the Senate.

The bill aims to ensure better protections for the environment while tackling a backlog of critical infrastructure, energy and housing projects by streamlining approvals processes.

Amendments for the Greens were aimed at removing fossil fuel projects from fast-track approvals pathways and ensuring they could not be subject to a new “national interest” exemption from environment laws.

Another change included keeping the “water trigger” in the hands of the federal government, which requires any impacts on water resources to be considered when approving a project.

For the Coalition, Labor offered five changes, including imposing a 14-day stop work order imposed by a Federal Environment Protection Authority.

The Coalition has also raised concerns about the powers of a proposed national environment protection agency, and in response, Labor has agreed to somewhat limit the powers of the department’s boss.

Negotiations are firming in favour of the Greens, with Opposition Leader Sussan Ley yet to meet the Prime Minister face-to-face on the reforms.

Parliament is scheduled to rise on Thursday evening, but politicians have been told to stay until Friday in case negotiations drag on until the last minute.