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Industry Minister Ed Husic is optimistic he will reach a deal with the Greens over the manufacturing fund.Credit:Rhett Wyman

Whilethe opposition has vowed to vote against the bill,which will be debated in parliament on Monday,Husic and Greens leader Adam Bandt have been meeting in an attempt to hammer out a compromise on the bill.

Husic is also meeting crossbenchers – including Zoe Daniel,Sophie Scamps and Zali Steggall – over the legislation and was cautiously optimistic it would pass the lower house with their support.

“Some of the economic challenges around inflation and interest rates stem in part from supply chain issues that the Coalition failed to deal with in government,” he said.

“Thenational reconstruction fund’s big focus isrebuilding manufacturing capability and dealing with supply chain issues. And it is also about making sure we see ‘Made in Australia’ labels on more locally manufactured goods.”

Last week,Greens industry spokeswoman Penny Allman-Payne welcomed the goal of the fund but said clearer safeguards were needed to ensure it didn’t get “turned into a ministerial slush fund for fossil fuel finance”.

The Greens have also flagged a fight with Labor over the laws that governthe safeguard mechanism,which requires Australia’s 215 largest greenhouse gas emitters to keep their net emissions below an emissions limit,and which Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen wants to amend by May.

On Sunday,Bandt called on Labor to hand back $896,000 in donations it had received from companies including Santos,Woodside,Whitehaven Coal,Glencore and Tamboran,and peak member bodies like the Minerals Council to give the public confidence in any scheme.

“The big sticking point in negotiations over the safeguard will be Labor’s push to open new coal and gas mines. Labor’s proposed safeguard mechanism opens new coal and gas mines instead of stopping them,” Bandt said.

Greens senator Dorinda Cox,a Yamatji-Noongar woman,will become the party’s First Nations spokesperson.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

“Labor shouldn’t be taking donations from the coal and gas corporations they’re meant to regulate. Labor should return these dirty coal and gas donations.”

The Greens will also announce on Monday that,as expected,West Australian senator Dorinda Cox will replace former Greens senatorLidia Thorpe – who sensationally quit the party last week over the Voice to parliament – as the party’s First Nations spokesperson.

Cox will share responsibility with Bandt for leading the Greens’ Voice campaign.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weeklyInside Politics newsletter here.

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