Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Nationals deputy leader Kevin Hogan laid out their different parties views on the environment laws on Morning SAD* today:

*Sky After Dark

Hanson-Young:

Well, this bill as it’s drafted at the moment and as it will pass through the lower house today is a bill that’s effectively been written to satisfy the mining industry and the big logging companies, and big business. It’s much more about fast tracking things like coal and gas, and mining operations than it is about protecting the environment. So, if the government wants to work with the Greens to pass environment legislation, they’re going to have to put some protections for the environment in there. And, right at the top, that means protecting our native forests and protecting our climate. The bill
will go to an inquiry, in fact, the inquiry is listed to not report back until March.

So, there’s quite a bit of time for the Senate to look at this and scrutinise it. I know the government is keen to get it done before Christmas, but if that’s the case they’re going to have to want to work with the Greens, they’re going to have to improve this bill significantly because now, it’s a bill about protecting the destroyers rather than protecting the forests.

Hogan:

Well we’d do a deal if we thought this bill was going to do what he says it will do. And that is make things easier, streamline processes to get approvals and to make things easier to employ people and make money for this country, and when Sarah says things like mining companies and business, I go, great isn’t it great that they’re having input into this?

Because mining is a good thing. We export hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of mining products every year, which funds the NDIS, which funds Medicare. So, isn’t it good that people who make money want to have input to this bill?
But what they’re all telling me, Pete, without exception, is this bill right now makes it even more difficult to do things in Australia than it currently is. And Pete, what does that mean? Some of these companies are big business and they can invest in gas projects, mining projects, anywhere in the world. And what they’re telling me is Australia is getting too hard. It’s over regulated, too much red and green tape. It’s too hard, too risky and it’s cheaper to invest your money and get better returns elsewhere. That’s not good for the wealth of our country.

The mining industry WANT the Coalition to pass this bill. So what does that tell you about how much easier it would make things?