Federal election 2025: Anthony Albanese avoids questions on details of new nature positive laws
Anthony Albanese has refused to detail his new plan for nature positive laws, while standing next to Roger Cook after the WA Premier labelled the previous legislation a threat to the State's jobs.
The pair were on the campaign trail in the crucial seat of Tangney on Thursday, when the Prime Minister was asked whether a new environmental regulator would be a compliance-only model as demanded by industry leaders.
Mr Albanese initially tried to avoid the question.
'What we'll have is a policy that's good for industry,' he said.
'I've met with Rebecca (Tomkinson) already from the Chamber of Minerals here in WA, I've had discussions with the Premier here, we've had discussions with conservation groups.
'What I want is something that's good for business and good for sustainability, and that's what they want as well.'
Pressed a further four times on whether the new version would be 'compliance only', Mr Albanese still refused to answer.
'You'll get to see the legislation when it's done,' he said.
'What we will do is not pre-empt processes of consultation. We treat people with respect, that's what my Government does. We engage with the industry.'
The Liberal party immediately seized on the non-answer and warned voters that Labor could be forced to negotiate with the Greens.
'Western Australians can't believe anything that comes out of this Prime Minister's mouth on the diabolical nature positive, mining negative laws,' WA Senator Michaelia Cash said.
'What we do know is that a Labor Government will introduce these laws that will be a disaster for the WA economy.
'If they are in a minority government with the Greens and Teals they will be even worse. Mr Albanese is a risk to the future prosperity of WA.'
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA welcomed the Prime Minister's commitment to consult further but was wary about his promise a new bill would be 'in accordance with what was recommended by the Samuels review'.
'It is important to note the Samuels Review did not recommend establishing an EPA with decision making powers,' CME chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson said.
'Creating a new federal decision maker will add yet another layer of duplication to what is already a lengthy and complex project assessment process.
'CME continues to question the need for a Federal Environmental Protection Agency given the robust procedures already in place at our independent State-based EPA.'
The controversial Nature Positive legislation was shelved, for a second time, in February when Mr Albanese declared there was 'no path' left to deliver a 'sensible' national EPA days after Mr Cook declared it a 'threat to WA jobs'.
'I'm just standing up for WA jobs and I'm very pleased with the outcome,' Mr Cook said at the time.
'This is a Prime Minister that gets Western Australia, he's shown great leadership in making this decision.'
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Australian National University expert associate Jennifer Parker said it wasn't surprising Canberra might not have been briefed on the attack as it no longer had major forces in the Middle East. "The Australian government was always going to have to come out in full support of the US, otherwise it would fundamentally undermine our relationship," she said. "You cannot defend the actions that Iran has been taking as a destabilising force in the region for a long time." Australia's support for the US acknowledged what happened in the Middle East also sent "key signals" to the Indo-Pacific, Ms Parker said. "The US telling Iran that they need to negotiate ... and then action being taken does reinforce, to a certain degree, deterrence in the Indo-Pacific," she said. She was unclear where the actions sat when it came to international law. Pressed on the issue of legality, Mr Albanese dodged questions. 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She was unclear where the actions sat when it came to international law. Pressed on the issue of legality, Mr Albanese dodged questions. Acting opposition foreign spokesman Andrew Hastie said the coalition had wanted to see Iran come to the negotiating table and submit to a full inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the number of Australians who had registered for help to leave the region had jumped to about 2900 in Iran and 1300 in Israel. Department of Foreign Affairs staff were evacuated from the embassy in Tehran days earlier and were now helping Australian citizens and residents who made it through Iran's border with Azerbaijan. "That was a difficult decision to make," Senator Wong said. "The advice to me, which I discussed with the prime minister and the deputy prime minister, was to ensure we got our people out." Iran's parliament voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, the transit route for about a quarter of the world's oil, prompting fears prices could push to $US100 a barrel or more. Despite fears about rising oil prices, NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said Australian motorists should not be concerned. "To get back to those record high prices that we saw back in 2022, you would need a catastrophe at that level to affect global supply. We're not there yet," he said. Australia previously provided resources to safeguard shipping lanes, but military involvement has been ruled out following the recent conflict. Anthony Albanese has backed America's "unilateral action" to strike Iranian nuclear facilities after a day of silence on the superpower's decision to enter the Middle East conflict. But in his first public comments since the US launched strikes on the facilities in Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz, the prime minister also said a wider war must be avoided. "The world has long agreed that Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon and we support action to prevent that," he said on Monday. "We don't want escalation and a full-scale war. We continue to call for dialogue and for diplomacy. "Iran didn't come to the table, just as it has repeatedly failed to comply with its international obligations." Some US allies in Europe have been more muted than Australia in their reaction to the strikes, while UN chief Antonio Guterres labelled them a dangerous escalation. Mr Albanese earlier convened a National Security Committee meeting. Asked if Australia was briefed on the US strikes beforehand, or if the nation had any involvement, the prime minister replied: "This was unilateral action taken by the United States." Mr Albanese would not say if the Pine Gap joint Australian-US intelligence surveillance base, located outside Alice Springs, was used in the operation. He also defended his decision to hold off commenting on the US strikes for at least 24 hours, saying Australia wasn't a "central player in this conflict". A government statement on Sunday noted Iran's nuclear and missile programs had been a threat to international security, while also calling for "de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy". Australian National University expert associate Jennifer Parker said it wasn't surprising Canberra might not have been briefed on the attack as it no longer had major forces in the Middle East. "The Australian government was always going to have to come out in full support of the US, otherwise it would fundamentally undermine our relationship," she said. "You cannot defend the actions that Iran has been taking as a destabilising force in the region for a long time." Australia's support for the US acknowledged what happened in the Middle East also sent "key signals" to the Indo-Pacific, Ms Parker said. 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"The advice to me, which I discussed with the prime minister and the deputy prime minister, was to ensure we got our people out." Iran's parliament voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, the transit route for about a quarter of the world's oil, prompting fears prices could push to $US100 a barrel or more. Despite fears about rising oil prices, NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said Australian motorists should not be concerned. "To get back to those record high prices that we saw back in 2022, you would need a catastrophe at that level to affect global supply. We're not there yet," he said. Australia previously provided resources to safeguard shipping lanes, but military involvement has been ruled out following the recent conflict.
