Anthony Albanese has been rebuked by the Senate crossbench for all but ruling out a climate trigger in environment legislation, with his take-it-or-leave-it stance compared to Scott Morrison’s description of himself as a “bulldozer”.
On Monday the independent senator David Pocock labelled the prime minister’s position “really disappointing” while the Greens’ environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, warned the PM it is “not leadership to bulldoze your way through”.
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has been talking to the Greens, crossbenchers and the Coalition about legislation to establish an environment protection authority, which was a Labor commitment at the 2022 election.
On Monday, Albanese was asked about a key Greens demand for a climate trigger, which would add climate to Australia’s list of nine protected matters.
Albanese told reporters in Canberra that “the Greens political party have never seen any piece of legislation they’re not confused by, any piece of legislation they don’t bring up things [as] a distraction in order to justify voting against it”.
“They should vote for the nature-positive legislation as it stands.
“With regard to a climate trigger and other things that they’re raising, I’ve made it clear … just a couple of weeks ago that I don’t support adding a trigger to that legislation.”
Albanese said that climate issues “are dealt with through the safeguard mechanism”, a policy to limit emissions of large industrial emitters which passed with Greens support, and the 43% emissions reduction target.
“The Greens and the Coalition increasingly are combining to vote against good legislation … they need to get out of the way and stop coming up with excuses and start voting for solutions.”
Albanese’s comments appear to contradict suggestions from Plibersek that the government could consider the climate before projects are approved, although some interpreted her remarks to the Minerals Council last week as an attempt to put pressure on the Coalition to cut a deal instead.
Last week the Greens wrote to Albanese and Plibersek suggesting the minor party could settle for – if not a climate trigger – then at least climate impacts as criteria to be considered before projects are approved under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Albanese was less definitive when asked about that option on Monday, although he labelled both Coalition claims and Greens demands “nonsense”.
Hanson-Young said it was not good enough to demand the crossbench “get out of the way” because “this parliament doesn’t operate like that”.
“We’re a democracy. The government does not have the numbers in the Senate. The government needs to negotiate and to work collaboratively to get outcomes. It is not leadership to bulldoze your way through.”
“Our previous prime minister was a bulldozer, let’s not forget, that didn’t end so well,” she said, invoking Morrison’s ill-fated bulldozer metaphor in the dying days of his government promising a different approach if re-elected in May 2022.
Crossbenchers including the Greens, Lidia Thorpe and Pocock are seeking amendments to strengthen the EPA’s independence and to protect native forests by ending the exemption from Australia’s environment laws for logging covered by a regional forest agreement.
Earlier, Pocock noted that Albanese in 2005 “moved his own bill to ensure that the EPBC Act considers climate”.
“He’s known about this being a huge issue since the year I finished high school. To be in this place in 2024 and see what’s happening when it comes to our climate and biodiversity in Australia, the nature that Australians love and cherish, and have him taking these lines is pretty disappointing.
“There’s a lot of people out there who are wondering why there is such a lack of leadership, vision and courage when it comes to protecting the people and places [that we love].”
In 2005 Albanese introduced a bill calling for a climate trigger in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, accusing the Howard government of “procrastinating on a climate change trigger since 1999”. Hanson-Young described a climate trigger as “his own policy”.
The former Labor senator turned independent Fatima Payman said she has been speaking to stakeholders on both sides and wants to balance more environmental protection with the importance of job creation.
Payman said Albanese has “still not given me my full staffing allocation” making it “really difficult” to get on top of critical legislation, implicitly linking her support to granting her more staff.
On Wednesday Peter Dutton told the Minerals Council the Coalition is negotiating in good faith on environmental laws.
“I don’t believe that the Greens and the government can arrive at a position that wouldn’t destroy the Labor party in Western Australia,” Dutton said. “And I don’t think the prime minister is going to take that risk is my political judgment.”
