Labor's hopes for its nature protection laws passing before Christmas might be dashed with the Greens threatening to block the sweeping reforms.
The bill of almost 1500 pages that rewrites the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act passed the House of Representatives on Thursday.
But Environment Minister Murray Watt's battle has just begun, with the proposed laws to be examined in a Senate inquiry with neither the coalition nor Greens onside with the changes.
The inquiry is due to report its findings in March, but the government's hopes of striking an earlier deal may be dealt a blow by the Greens who plan extensive scrutiny.
The fact mining interests including the Minerals Council and BHP encouraged Labor and the coalition to strike a deal to ensure the bill's quick passage was proof it had been written for "big business", Greens senator Sarah-Hanson Young said.
"We will be using the Senate inquiry process to tear this bill to shreds, because that's what it deserves," Senator Hanson-Young told reporters in Canberra as the bill was being debated.
"The bill's only friend is a mining lobby ... it has no other plans because it's the dog of a bill written to keep coal and gas growing."
She said it needed to be "drastically fixed" to actually protect the environment and prevent forest logging.
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable touted the bill as a "win for the sector" as it would balance environmental protection with getting projects up and running.
Key parts of the bill include setting up an independent Environmental Protection Agency, though the minister would retain the final say on development approvals.
The EPA will act independently with new powers, including the ability to issue stop-work orders and to audit approval-holders to ensure compliance.
If passed, the reforms will also remove duplication in approvals and assessment systems by updating bilateral agreements with state and territories.
It will streamline assessment time frames for proponents who provide enough up-front information for developments.
Senator Watt said negotiations would continue next week to get the reforms over the line.
"The ball is now in the coalition and the Greens' court to help us pass these reforms through the Senate," he told reporters in Canberra.
"There is no excuse for the coalition and the Greens to continue the blocking tactics that they have employed for too many years."
