“I don’t support adding a trigger to that legislation,” Albanese said on Monday.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has not ruled out changes from talks with the Greens but said the minor party would face a backlash if it blocked the regulator.

“I think Green voters would be disappointed if the Greens party delayed a tough new environment watchdog like the EPA,or if they tried to stop fines for serious environmental crimes going up from around $15 million to $780 million,” she said.

On housing,the Greens are holding out for cuts to tax breaks on investment properties as a key condition for their support for the Help to Buy scheme,which Labor promised at the last election as a way for people to gain help from the government to own their first home.

Albanese offered no concession on the Labor housing policy despite the Greens’ calls for more spending on public housing,a national rent freeze to be arranged with the states and the removal of tax concessions on investment properties and capital gains.

The government decided months ago to make the Senate the focus of political argument this week,suspending the House of Representatives from normal business until October 8 while keeping the upper house sitting.

The Help to Buy scheme seeks to allow the government to contribute up to 40 per cent of the purchase price of a new home,or 30 per cent for an existing home,for selected applicants.

The scheme would be open to 10,000 applicants each financial year,up to a maximum of 40,000 places,and would save buyers from having to take out lenders mortgage insurance.

The policy aims to help first home buyers with income of less than $90,000 for individuals and $120,000 for couples. It would cost taxpayers $324.6 million over four years,but it can only start operating after states and territories pass laws to support the federal law.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said the scheme would not help 99 per cent of renters.

“You’re going to end up with a very small number of people potentially turning up to an auction with a bit of extra money in their pocket,competing against everyone else,including investors,who will have the ability to continue to push up house prices,” he said.

Independent senators David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie have not made negative gearing a reason for opposing the Help to Buy scheme,which they appear likely to support.

Opposition Leader Peter Duttonruled out changing negative gearing in February by saying “no” when asked if he saw any need to curb the practice despite support for the change within the Coalition when it held government.

Treasury said in February that rental property deductions cost $24 billion last financial year,with about two-thirds of the benefits going to individuals in the top 30 per cent of taxable income.

About 1.1 million people,or half the total number of people with rental deductions,had a rental loss last year,which is the definition of negative gearing. These losses added up to $7.8 billion and provided a tax benefit of $2.7 billion to those taxpayers.

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