Nature Positive: Miners lobby key crossbenchers to sink Federal EPA , Senator Fatima Payman may hold key

Miners and big business are frantically lobbying key crossbenchers to thwart a potential Labor-Greens deal to create a Federal Environment Protection Agency, which one peak body fears could derail the energy transition.

Rogue WA senator Fatima Payman – whose State would be most affected by an EPA – could ultimately decide the fate of the proposed nature watchdog if a Senate vote goes ahead this week.

Labor and the Greens are locked in talks on laws to establish a federal EPA, with optimism a deal could be reached before Parliament rises on Thursday for the summer break.

After capitulating on their demands on Labor’s housing bills, speculation was rife on Tuesday the Greens could do so again on Nature Positive, handing Labor a second major win in what could be the final sitting week before next year’s Federal election.

The Greens already walked back their key demand for a climate trigger and offered to pass the EPA Bill unless the Government agreed to capture native forest logging under federal environment law.

The Federal EPA – which Labor promised at the 2022 election – is the second stage of Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s hugely controversial Nature Positive plan.

The third and final tranche, which will include a suite of national environmental standards, was put on the backburner months ago and almost certainly won’t be revisited until after the next year’s election.

Speculation of an imminent Labor-Greens deal sent alarming bells ringing across industry, with the Minerals Council of Australia and Business Council of Australia immediately ramping up their lobbying of key crossbenchers who could decide its fate.

If Labor gets the Greens on board, it would still need three crossbench votes to get it through the Senate.

The Nightly has confirmed the Government is in active negotiations with independent senator David Pocock, who wants the bill passed this week if possible, and Lidia Thorpe.

Senior industry sources are confident Tasmanians Jacqui Lambie and Tammy Tyrrell will oppose the legislation but are in the dark about Senator Payman’s intentions.

The offices of Ms Plibersek and Greens environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young declined to comment on negotiations.

The prospect of Labor-Greens deal on the EPA triggered an immediate backlash from WA miners.

The EPA Bill as drafted would create a new federal agency with powers to make decisions on project approvals and police nature laws.

Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson said a “fully autonomous” EPA risked delaying projects and driving up costs, piling further pressure on a industry already dealing with tumbling commodity prices.

“Poorly designed environmental policy risks derailing Australia’s entire net zero energy transition,” she said.

“CME supports Nature Positive reforms that are better for the environment and better for business.

“This legislation does not reach that threshold. It is bad for WA.”

Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black was “deeply concerned” at the prospect of a Labor-Greens deal.

“If the Greens get their way, there will likely be significant economic harm inflicted on the WA economy and jobs,” Mr Black said.

Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable said the Government should be focused on cost-of-living rather than establishing a Canberra-based bureaucracy.

Association of Mining and Exploration Companies chief executive Warren Pearce said the Government was “putting the lifeblood of the Australian economy at risk” if it rushed the laws through.