The Greens have extended an olive branch to Labor ahead of the federal election, offering to help a future Albanese government pass climate legislation so long as it agrees to a temporary pause on new coal, gas and oil projects.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Greens leader Adam Bandt will on Monday unveil the "circuit-breaker" proposal ahead of Federal Parliament's return for the year on Tuesday.
Mr Bandt has declared he wants to "improve, not block" Labor's agenda, sending a signal the Greens want to dispel the perception they cannot negotiate on climate policy.
But the olive branch will double as a political wedge, with the Greens poised to attack Labor's commitment to climate action if it rejects the offer.
The Greens are gunning for a number of Labor-held seats across the country at the looming federal election, including the electorate of Canberra.
"If you're opening up new coal or gas projects then you're not serious about climate action," Mr Bandt told The Canberra Times.
"This is the time to get serious about climate. And it's the time for parties to come together and realise we've got to take urgent action".
Mr Bandt is confident of holding the balance of power in the next Federal Parliament, a position the Greens would use to end the Coalition's near nine-year term in office and strike up some form of power-sharing deal with a minority Labor government.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has repeatedly ruled out any coalition with the Greens after the next election.
The two parties have long been at loggerheads over climate policy.
The Greens famously voted against the Rudd government's carbon pollution reduction scheme in 2009, a decision Labor blames for causing higher emissions and fueling the so-called "climate wars" which have plagued Australian politics since.
READ MORE:
Mr Bandt said he wanted to work constructively with Labor - on one condition.
Under a proposal to be rubber stamped at a party room meeting on Monday, the Greens would a seek a moratorium on approvals for new coal, gas and oil projects until the next UN climate summit this November.
In exchange, the Greens would offer to help Labor pass climate legislation before the talks in Egypt.
Labor wants to legislate its net zero by 2050 target and 43 per cent 2030 goal. Legislation would also be required to deliver its $20 billion plan to modernise the electricity grid and make changes to the mechanism used to limit pollution at high-emitting sites.
The announcement comes as new Parliamentary Library research, requested by the Greens, revealed if the 114 coal, oil and gas projects in the construction pipeline all went ahead, they would emit pollution equal to 2.5 times Australia's annual carbon emissions.
Mr Bandt described the temporary freeze on new projects as a modest demand which "no sensible government could reasonably refuse".
If a deal was struck, the Greens would turn their attention after the summit to pressuring Labor to accelerate the end of coal and gas.
The Greens remain committed to a "rapid" phasing out of fossil fuels and achieving net zero emissions by 2035. Labor has maintained it has no plans to shut down the coal and gas sectors, and won't budge on its 2030 target.
Mr Bandt said while the Greens would push Labor to "go further and faster" on climate action, it wanted to find "common ground".
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
