Secret correspondence reveals that a coalition of business leaders secretly appealed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to intervene and rewrite Labor’s Nature Positive Plan over fears it would have a devastating impact on the economy.
Hancock Prospecting chief executive Gary Korte and Rio Tinto iron ore chief Simon Trott were among seven signatories to a letter to Mr Albanese expressing “serious concerns” about the proposed environmental law overhaul and the closed-door consultation process that led to its drafting.
“As currently proposed, we believe the reform could and likely will result in billions of dollars of lost investment and tens of thousands of jobs lost in Western Australia alone,” said the letter, released under the Freedom of Information Act.
“In key sectors such as agriculture, housing, tourism, infrastructure, renewable energy and the development of key minerals, this reform could have serious undesirable effects on the economy as a whole, including on economic productivity, and run counter to your government’s stated economic policy objectives.”
The letter was dated March 28 – a day after The Nightly revealed that the federal government was likely to scrap the Nature Positive reforms following massive backlash from the mining industry.
Labor has since taken the next stage, introducing legislation to establish a federal environmental protection agency, while the third and most controversial part – which will include new environmental protection standards – is on hold.
In the letter, the business leaders said the “seriousness of the matter” justified personal intervention by Albanese, effectively sidelining Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.
The names of Mr Korte and Mr Trott are the only signatories visible on the letter, while the other five – also from WA-based companies – have been blacked out.
According to the Nightly, other signatories include leading figures from the housing and mining sectors.
The letter contained nine specific demands, including an end to the secrecy of the consultation process, a restriction of the powers of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a revision of the proposed penalty system.
The letter revealed that the government had at one point considered penalties of up to 10 percent of a company’s annual turnover – which could have meant billions of dollars for major mining companies.
The final penal system appears to have been weakened: serious intentional violations of environmental law are subject to fines of up to $780 million, and criminal cases can result in up to seven years in prison.
Other requests fell on deaf ears, including those relating to the responsibilities of the federal environmental agency EPA.
Business leaders wanted to limit the role of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulatory enforcement – something Labor had hinted at before the 2022 election.
But the government now wants to create a much more powerful agency that would be responsible for approving projects, except in cases where the application is “convened” for review by the ministry.
“Decision-making must take into account complex factors in addition to environmental impacts, including from the perspective of economic, social and national interest,” the letter states.
“An unelected EPA whose core competencies lie exclusively in the environmental field is inherently unsuited to this role.”
The chain of secret correspondence released this week shows that company leaders initially received an automated reply informing them that the letter had been personally forwarded to the Ministry of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.
Two weeks later, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet responded that it had been an error and confirmed that the letter was now being reviewed.
Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Gorman responded to the group on behalf of Mr Albanese on May 16 – more than six weeks after the letter was sent.
Mr Gorman reiterated the Government’s view that the Nature Positive Plan would create a system that “works better for the economy and nature”.
“The Government will take its time to secure the powers to reform and will continue to consult closely with stakeholders throughout. Among other things, it will publish a comprehensive draft of the third phase of the new laws for public consultation before they are presented to Parliament,” Mr Gorman wrote.