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‘No doubt’ environment laws will pass this week, says Watt

Continuing his media rounds this morning, Murray Watt says he’s feeling confident that a deal is “very close” with either the Coalition or the Greens.

He tells ABC’s Radio National Breakfast the number of issues each side is seeking change on is “smaller than it was this time last week”, and that there’s more room to move.

I’m in under no doubt that we will pass these laws this week. It’s really a matter of whether it’s with the Coalition or the Greens.

I’ve always said that I’m a realist. I am a senator, I work in the Senate, I understand that you’ve got to make changes to bills to get them through … I am prepared to compromise a little bit more on either side to get this through as long as we don’t get rid of those core principles.

Asked more specifically about some of the Greens demands, like ending native forest logging, Watt says even under the new act, which would remove an exemption for native forest logging, the logging could still continue.

We’re not going to be ending native forestry altogether and we’re not going to be getting rid of regional forest agreements under which native forestry occurs, but we are open to increasing the environmental standards expected of native forestry, and that’s one of the things that Graeme Samuel recommended.

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NDIS a ‘trainwreck’, not for profit providers leaving – warns industry expert

Not for profit NDIS providers are leaving the system, says Dr Martin Laverty, who helped design the national disability insurance scheme and now runs registered provider, Aruma.

Speaking to ABC’s AM program a little earlier, Laverty said the situation in the NDIS is a “trainwreck”, with not-for-profits now in their fifth year of consecutive losses.

Laverty says a key issue is the pricing that the national disability insurance agency (NDIA) sets.

Over the five years that have just concluded, registered not-for-profits have suffered 12% losses. That’s unsustainable. And what we’re now seeing is a number of not-for-profit organisations have chosen to exit. Others are on the precipice and the National Disability Insurance Agency has put the government in a really awkward position. The reason for these losses is price. The NDIA is running a flawed pricing system”

It’s a train wreck. This, for those of us who were involved in setting up the scheme are horrified with what’s happening.

ShareJosh Butler

Abandoning net zero is “economic insanity” Chalmers claims

The Coalition’s plan to dump its net zero emissions policy would “decimate investor confidence” in Australia for clean energy projects, claims the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, warning about risks to investment in critical minerals projects.

Chalmers is this morning talking up the economic benefits of Labor’s plans for the energy transition, pointing to billions in investment into critical minerals projects. He claimed that the Coalition’s pledge to drop a net zero target, and unwind the government’s production tax incentives, would put those projects at risk.

What the Coalition is proposing would decimate investor confidence around Australia and risk billions of dollars of investment.

Abandoning net zero would swing a wrecking ball through the energy market, through investor certainty and put billions of dollars of critical minerals projects at risk.

He called the net zero transformation “a golden economic opportunity for Australia”.

Abandoning net zero is economic insanity that would mean less investment, higher energy prices and fewer jobs.

Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Darren England/AAPShare

Updated at 21.35 CET

Environment deal “getting closer”, Watt says

The environment minister, Murray Watt, has one big task this fortnight – to pass the environment protection and biodiversity conservation (EPBC) bills with the support of either the Coalition or the Greens.

Unsurprisingly, Watt says, both parties want quite different concessions from the government.

He tells ABC News Breakfast this morning he spoke to representatives from both parties over the weekend and they’ll continue negotiating today.

The Coalition want more changes to support business. The Greens want more changes made to support the environment. You will remember what I’ve always said through this process is that we need to have a balanced package that delivers wins for both the environment and for business. It’s not one or the other … I suspect that we’ll end up going with whichever of those two parties is more prepared to come closer to the package that we’ve already passed through the House of Representatives.

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Updated at 21.28 CET

BoM facing increased heat as $96m website upgrade cost revealed

The pile-on continues on the Bureau of Meteorology for their controversial website redesign, which we now understand has cost $96m.

Over on Sunrise this morning, Labor cabinet minister Tanya Plibersek and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce both say it’s not a great look for the bureau.

The figure is a whole lot more than the $4m originally estimated.

Plibersek, in defence of her government, says the website rebuild started under a former BoM CEO back in 2019.

When we came to government there was a rebranding exercise going on where the asking people to call it the Bureau instead of the BoM. I said at the time we needed to focus on the weather and not rebranding. There were some upgrades necessary, the security systems on the computers of the Bureau of Meteorology were very prone to hacking. The government was told that.

Plibersek is pushed on when the cabinet knew how much it would cost, and whether it approved that figure – the now social services minister says she suspects there was “overrun” in the spending on the project, but that the work started before the Albanese government took office, and it was necessary to improve cybersecurity.

Photograph: Nadir Kinani/AAPShare

Updated at 21.36 CET

Good morning

Krishani Dhanji

Krishani Dhanji here with you for the final parliamentary sitting week of the year, and boy is it going to get busy.

The environment protection and biodiversity conservation bills are up for debate in the Senate, with Murray Watt hopeful he can negotiate an agreement with either the Greens or the Coalition by the end of the week. It’s like the Bachelor … except serious, and with lots of real-life consequences.

Also likely to keep the drama going is the instability in the Liberal party – following leadership spills in both the Victorian and NSW parties last week. New polling in the Australian isn’t helping their case.

And everyone’s on the bandwagon criticising the new Bureau of Meteorology website – particularly now that it’s been revealed that the total price tag was nearly $100m.

Stay with us.

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