SYDNEY — With the Labor Party back in power by the skin of its teeth and with the Greens holding the whip, countries buying essentials from Australia should expect to negotiate more carefully with suppliers of coal, iron ore, uranium and foodstuffs.
Already the minority Green Party is threatening to use its blocking powers in Parliament to stop the approval of billions of dollars of uranium-mining projects. Australia's biggest export, coal — traditionally going to Japanese steel and electricity plants — is on the Greens' hit list.
The new climate change minister, Greg Combet, has promised to bring "common sense" to the debate that rocked the last Labor government, warning that he will fight for the coal industry as he pursues a price on carbon emissions. But the new-look Canberra is far less clear-cut on industrial progress than the old one.