Tanya Plibersek has admitted that she was “surprised” to have to take charge of the Ministry of the Environment instead of the education position she had expected.
The former Labor deputy leader has been touted as a leadership rival to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese since he took charge of the party in 2019.
The Environment and Water portfolio was seen as a demotion after she was shadow education minister for six years until the May 21 election.
Former Labor deputy leader Tania Plibersek said her appointment as environment minister, widely seen as a demotion, came as a surprise, but continued to insist she is delighted with the job.
That department fell to Jason Clare, who was seen as rewarded by a strong election campaign in which Plibersek did not feature prominently.
Ms. Plibersek defended the importance of her new job in one of her first interviews since being assigned the portfolio. The Australian reported.
‘In the last election we saw that the environment is a big issue for many Australian voters and (we need to) make sure we address the big outstanding issues, the things that have gotten worse over the last decade, not better. ‘ she said.
Plibersek admitted she did not expect to be moved to Environment, which in opposition was covered by Terri Butler, who lost her Brisbane seat to the Greens.
Ms Plibersek, seen here shaking hands with Australian Governor-General David Hurley after being sworn in as Environment Minister, has outlined a number of priorities in a major interview.
Environmental issues proved to be a strong vote winner in the election, with six ‘teal’ independents claiming previously blue-chip Liberal seats and the Greens doing well in both the lower and upper houses.
Those successful campaigns focused heavily on climate change.
There is a higher-ranking ministry than Environment and Water that takes primary responsibility for climate change, which is the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen.
Plibersek said a priority for his department would be to review environmental approval processes.
Mrs Plibersek makes a rare campaign appearance, behind Anthony Albanese (centre). The education portfolio for which she was a long-time opposition spokesperson was handed to Jason Clare (R), who was seen as a strong presence in the campaign.
In March, the Morrison government pledged $128 million to fast-track environmental approvals, but Ms Plibersek did not commit to pursuing that, but rather to seek an independent review of the process.
Plibersek accused the Morrison Government of failing to publish a “damning” report on the state of Australia’s environment in the run-up to the election and said it would do so in July.
Labor promised the day before the federal election to institute a new watchdog, the Environmental Protection Agency, to enforce federal environmental laws, which some critics said was not being done.
The agency is still in an embryonic phase, Ms. Plibersek told the Australian Financial Review.
‘I’m not going to start making announcements without a thorough consultation. “I’ll talk to people about a model, we’ll design a model, we’ll consult on a model,” she said.
Plibersek said he would continue the previous government’s fight against the UN declaration that the Great Barrier Reef is in danger, arguing Labor would do a better job protecting it.
‘This is not something that will occur to me in a few weeks in my office. It is a very important change.
“We want better protection of the environment and we want to do it in a way that makes approval processes faster, cheaper and less complex.”
Despite wanting greater protection for the Great Barrier Reef, Ms Plibersek said she would continue the Morrison Government’s fight to prevent the natural wonder from being designated as endangered by the UN.
“I would certainly tell the UN that listing the reef as endangered is wrong,” he said.
He said it would be “unfair” for the UN to ignore his government’s new efforts to protect the reef through stronger action against climate change and more money allocated to protect, rehabilitate and restore it.
Plibersek said the previous government hid a damning report on Australia’s environment and promised to increase efforts to protect endangered species, like this eastern quoll.
Plibersek said he also wanted greater protections to safeguard endangered native species and natural environments threatened by imported animals, although he made no funding commitments.
“We need to make sure we explain to Australia that we can have it both ways – that we can actually have a strong, growing economy and better protect our environment,” he said.
He also promised to publish a report in July on buying back Murray-Darling Basin water from farmers for environmental reasons, a program halted by the Morrison government.
During the election campaign, Ms Plibersek rarely appeared with Mr Albanese and did not attend Labour’s campaign launch in Perth, leading pundits to speculate she had been “sidelined”.
Plibersek ignored those suggestions, insisting that he was campaigning nationwide and appearing regularly on radio and television.
The Sydney MP, 52, was deputy leader of the Labor Party for six years under Bill Shorten and is the longest-serving woman in the House of Representatives.
When it was announced that Ms Plibersek would become Environment and Water Minister, she posted on Facebook that she was delighted to have been given the portfolio and was “looking forward” to the challenge.
Ms Plibersek is the longest-serving woman in the House of Representatives and said she should remain in parliament for the “long term”.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles denied it was a demotion.
“That’s the last thing I would see,” he said.
‘I mean that might be how the previous government saw that policy area, but for us, the environment is at the forefront and always has been under Labor governments.
‘And for Tanya it has been a source of lasting passion, and also of water.
Following Bill Shorten’s defeat in the 2019 election, Plibersek said he was considering running for the leadership but ultimately concluded it was “not his time”.
While she intends to remain in parliament for the “long term”, Ms Plibersek said she did not entertain any leadership ambitions.