Industry wary but confident of environmental law overhaul after talks with new minister

West Australian

19-06-2025

Business leaders remain wary of environmental reforms following the nature positive disaster but new minister Murray Watt is doing a better job of earning their trust than his predecessor.
Industry sources who attended an initial consultation on Thursday told The West they got a much better vibe from the new environment minister than Tanya Plibersek, who some said was more likely to take an 'it's my way or the highway' approach.
The main sticking points to landing the reforms within Senator Watt's ambitious 18-month timetable are the scope of a Federal environmental protection agency and whether climate impacts should be added as a consideration for project approvals.
The minister told the 30 groups represented at the roundtable — half in Canberra and half attending virtually — that he was determined to get the deal done and all sides would have to compromise.
'I think that people understand that we had a lost opportunity in not being able to reach agreement as a country about where these rules go,' Senator Watt said afterwards.
'If we don't pass these laws, then our environment faces more destruction. Businesses face more cost and delay in their projects.'
Business Council Australia chief executive Bran Black backed the aim to get the changes through in the first half of this term.
'We need more projects approved and more homes built, and the closer we get to an election the harder it can sometimes get to achieve consensus,' he said.
Peak bodies for resources, construction, agriculture and energy attended along with a range of environmental groups and key figures from Rio Tinto, BHP, AACo, Mirvac, Origin, Stockland and Lendlease.
Industry representatives described the talks as a 'strong start', productive, and a 'constructive reset' although acknowledged there was a long way to go yet.
It was the first time during Labor's efforts at overhauling the Howard-era laws that stakeholders from all sides had been in a room together and were able to put their views to the minister.
Senator Watt told those gathered for the EPBC Act consultations that he had deliberately mixed up the seating around the large table in one of Parliament House's committee rooms so that 'we don't have an industry corner and an environment corner' in order to better encourage people to work together.
He said there appeared to be genuine commitment from everyone to get something done.
The view was echoed by one stakeholder, who said most of those involved had already been through several iterations of talks and no longer wanted to go through the motions and let it die.
They thought Senator Watt was preparing to put forward something more achievable and acceptable than Ms Plibersek had tried.
She had split the establishment of an EPA out from the environmental protection rule changes and proposed a model that went further than the Samuel review proposed. Ultimately, the nature positive legislation couldn't find support for either the Coalition or the Greens to pass.
Others were encouraged that the minister's starting point seemed to be working with the existing Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act rather than seeking to write an entirely new Act.
He also committed to a more transparent process and a comprehensive package that incorporated both the proposed new watchdog and the rule changes.
Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson said a 'robust and transparent consultation process that allows stakeholders to provide input at each stage and, crucially, to see the proposed legislative changes in their entirety before they are introduced to Parliament' was integral to achieving the objectives of better outcomes for the environment and business.
Association of Mining and Exploration Companies head Warren Pearce said while there were still differing views, there was a clear desire on all sides to get this done.
'Minister Watt is pretty frank, he is seeking a package of reforms that can find broad support – and that will pass the Parliament – and to get it done in the first half of the new term,' he said.
A top priority resources groups is removing the duplication between State and Federal processes, which will come down in part to the role of the new federal EPA and whether the Federal minister retains the powers to make ultimate approvals decisions.
'While a national EPA is clearly a key priority, questions remain around decision-making accountability,' Minerals Council of Australia head Tania Constable said.
Environmental groups are pushing for a climate trigger to be included in the new laws, which many on the industry side see as a deal-breaker, pointing out that it would stop far more than just coal and gas projects.
But Greenpeace's Glenn Walker said the environmental framework was already failing and needed fixing urgently.
'Central to all of this is an independent national environmental watchdog with teeth to enforce the laws and make decisions on approvals or large projects,' he said.