The Albanese government’s proposed fuel efficiency standards are set to sail through parliament after it clinched a deal with the Greens.
But Labor will dump legislation designed to speed up environmental approval processes for new offshore gas developments in return.
A vote on proposed emissions caps for new vehicles and a hike to the petroleum resource rent tax will be supported is expected on Thursday afternoon.
Hailing the result as a major win, Greens leader Adam Bandt claimed the minor party had “killed” the gas approvals policy.
“This is a big blow to the coal and gas corporations, a big win for the climate and First Nations voices, and it happened because the Greens have power in parliament,” he said.
The policy would have handed Resources Minister Madeleine King the power to alter consultation rules on offshore gas developments after Woodside’s Scarborough and Santos’ Barossa gas fields were subject to legal action.
Under the new emissions standards, fleetwide emission caps for passenger and light commercial vehicles, bringing Australia into line with other developed economies that have similar schemes.
The PRRT changes will reduce generous tax deductions to oil and gas companies capital expenditures, and are expected to raise $2.4bn over the four-year forward estimates.
More to come.