Environmental Law Reform Faces Senate Showdown as Treasurer Urges Business Pressure on Coalition
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Treasurer Jim Chalmers called on the business community to lobby Coalition senators ahead of crucial votes on environmental law reforms next week, prompting National Party opposition and Greens criticism as the government races to pass legislation before year’s end.
Chalmers, Member for Rankin in Queensland, said the reforms would deliver better outcomes for environment and economy simultaneously by making the approval system faster, more efficient, more robust and more transparent. He identified next week as critically important for determining whether Parliament passes the changes this year.
“These are all about a better outcome for our environment and for our economy by making the system faster, more efficient, more robust, more transparent,” Chalmers told Sky News. “And next week’s going to be a really important week in the Senate because it will determine whether we bed down these important changes or not.”
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The Treasurer’s public call for business advocacy emerged from the Economic Reform Roundtable, where participants concluded the legislation should pass this year rather than next year if achievable. Chalmers said he has been encouraging stakeholders to make the case for timely passage.
“Out of the Economic Reform Roundtable, one of the key conclusions was that we needed to try and legislate this this year rather than next year, if we could,” Chalmers said. “That’s in the hands of the Senate. And I think anyone who wants to see this bedded down has an opportunity to lobby for that outcome.”
The Treasurer’s intervention drew immediate pushback from National Party senators, who urged Coalition colleagues not to negotiate under pressure. Chalmers dismissed National Party opposition as predictable extremism, saying the party opposes everything the government proposes in the Senate.
“When it comes to the National Party, I mean, the National Party is run by extremists,” Chalmers said. “And it’s no surprise to learn that the figures that you’ve quoted would like to say no to everything that the government puts forward in the Senate.”
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young for South Australia issued a scathing assessment of the environmental reform bill, arguing it grants fossil fuel companies easier access to approvals while failing to guarantee protection for native forests and threatened species. She criticized the government for listing the 1,500-page bill on next week’s Senate program despite ongoing committee inquiry proceedings.
“Not only are they abandoning climate conference they now want to rush through the parliament environment laws with the anti-climate coalition,” Hanson-Young said. “They’ve listed it on the notice paper for next week on the senate notice paper despite the fact that the committee we’re still meeting we’re still inquiring into this 1500 page bill.”
Hanson-Young characterized the legislation as delivering the opposite outcomes from genuine environmental law reform expected in 2025. She said committee hearings have revealed fossil fuel companies receive cheaper and easier pathways under the proposed framework.
“What we’ve seen again today from the hearing that’s going on in the room just behind me is that fossil fuel companies get an easier and cheaper ride under this law as drafted by the Labor government,” Hanson-Young said. “So not only does it fail to guarantee the protection of our native forests and the protection of our threatened species, but it gives coal and gas companies a free ride.”
The Greens senator linked the environmental reform push to the government’s decision to withdraw from hosting COP31 in Adelaide, describing both developments as failures of climate leadership. She accused the government of bowing to fossil fuel industry pressure rather than standing up for the Pacific region.
“Rather than standing up for our region and the Pacific, we’ve had the Prime Minister and his government bow to the pressure of the fossil fuel industry,” Hanson-Young said. “An absolute disgrace, lack of leadership and a failure on all levels.”
The government argues the environmental law reforms streamline approval processes while maintaining environmental protection standards. Ministers emphasize the current system creates unnecessary delays that discourage investment without delivering superior environmental outcomes.
The legislation aims to establish clearer assessment criteria, reduce duplication between federal and state approvals, and provide greater certainty for project proponents while incorporating modern environmental science and climate considerations into decision-making frameworks.
Business groups have advocated for approval process reform for years, arguing the current system imposes excessive costs and timeframes that deter investment in major projects. Industry representatives say predictable approval pathways are essential for securing financing and planning project development.
Environmental advocacy organizations remain divided on the reforms. Some groups support streamlining measures paired with stronger enforcement mechanisms, while others argue any acceleration of approval processes inevitably weakens environmental protections regardless of stated safeguards.
The Senate vote timing is critical as Parliament enters its final sitting week before summer recess. Government strategists recognize that passing the legislation this year is significantly easier than reviving it in the next parliamentary session, particularly with an election campaign looming.
Coalition senators face competing pressures from business constituencies seeking regulatory certainty and conservative base voters skeptical of environmental regulation generally. The National Party’s hardline opposition complicates Coalition negotiations with the government on amendments that might secure broader support.
Chalmers emphasized the Senate has “a good opportunity next week to do the right thing by our economy and by our environment simultaneously,” framing the vote as beneficial to both economic development and environmental protection rather than requiring trade-offs between competing priorities.
The Treasurer’s characterization of National Party leadership as extremist reflects broader Labor strategy to isolate the Nationals as unreasonable obstructionists while presenting the Liberal Party with opportunities to demonstrate pragmatism on economic reform priorities.
Independent and crossbench senators may prove decisive in determining the legislation’s fate. Their votes could enable passage even if Coalition senators uniformly oppose the bill, though the government prefers securing at least some Coalition support to demonstrate bipartisan backing for significant regulatory reform.
The environmental reform package represents one element of the government’s broader regulatory modernization agenda emerging from the Economic Reform Roundtable. Other priorities include industrial relations framework updates, financial services regulation changes, and digital economy regulatory development.
Next week’s Senate debate will test whether the government can navigate competing political pressures to secure passage of contentious legislation in the face of opposition from both Coalition conservatives and Greens progressives. The outcome will signal the government’s capacity to advance its reform agenda ahead of an election campaign expected in coming months.
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