Environment watchdog scrapped as PM railroads minister

A major environmental proposal appears dead in the water after the prime minister overruled his environment minister to kill a political deal.

The Greens have been in discussions with Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek over the the federal government's stalled bid to establish a national environment watchdog.

After weeks of negotiations, where the Greens dropped demands for a climate trigger in favour of action against forest logging, the parties were poised for a breakthrough.

Then, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese picked up the phone.

A few hours later, he told the Greens to destroy the deal without informing Ms Plibersek's office, according to sources close to the negotiations.

The agreement - which was all but stamped on Tuesday morning - was in tatters by the afternoon.

"The prime minister has been bullied by the mining and logging lobby again," Greens environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said.

"The Greens put a deal on the table and the government has walked away."

The prime minister and environment minister's offices were contacted but declined to comment.

West Australian mining bodies like the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA, alongside the Tasmanian forestry organisations like Tasmanian Forest Products Association, have been critical of the federal government's nature reforms.

As Labor prepares for a federal election, it has its eyes on seats in the resource rich states of WA and Tasmania.

West Australian Premier Roger Cook confirmed he had conversations with the federal government on Tuesday.

"I simply made sure that Western Australia's view was put forward and put forward effectively," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"I'm very pleased to have received assurances from the highest levels of government that those laws will not be going ahead in their current form this week.

"It was going to disadvantage Western Australian industry, it was going to be a risk to Western Australian jobs, and so that was obviously a point of concern for us."

The proposed watchdog, named Environment Protection Australia, would target offences to do with hazardous waste, sea dumping, air quality and wildlife trafficking, and have the ability to impose fines of up to $780 million for serious intentional breaches.

It would also be able to issue stop-work orders and audit businesses to ensure they comply with environmental laws.

Environment advocates like Wilderness Society campaign manager Sam Szoke-Burke have urged the government to do its job.

"The cave-in disregards the reality and urgency of Australia's biodiversity crisis, and ignores the vast majority of Australians who want stronger nature laws," he said.

Mr Albanese has previously considered gutting Environment Protection Australia in a bid to get the watchdog across the line through discussions with the opposition.

This comes after Labor secured Greens support for its key housing reforms without agreeing to the minor party's demands.