Tanya Plibersek has hit back at Greens leader Adam Bandt after he was ordered to remove a social media post about her over fears it contained misinformation.
The Environment Minister was asked about the incident on Thursday morning, hours after Daily Mail Australia revealed Bandt’s offensive post had been removed, following a request from Parliament’s Sergeant-at-Arms.
Ms Plibersek told Sky News: ‘(Adam Bandt) has been caught lying, and this is deliberate misinformation.
‘That’s what I expect from the Greens. “They are deeply cynical and deliberately misleading on their social media.”
Greens leader Adam Bandt has been ordered to remove a social media post he made aimed at Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek over concerns it was misinformation.
Bandt had accused Plibersek of “accelerating” environmental crises and making “dubious deals” with gas companies in a Facebook post on Sunday.
It then moved on to harrowing videos of the various bushfires and floods that have hit Australia in recent years, showing images of people and animals in danger as a result of the environmental disasters.
But Plibersek claimed Bandt had responded to a question about renewable energy and “pretended he was talking about gas.”
“It’s what I expected from the Greens, so there are no surprises.”
A spokesperson for Bandt previously insisted to Daily Mail Australia that Plibersek referenced the resources sector at one point in his response.
The Minister’s reference to “resource projects” was what sparked his anger and prompted the controversial post, the spokesperson said.
“It is shameful that, in a climate crisis, the Environment Minister boasted about approving new fossil fuel projects, and we will continue to hold her to account for her role in accelerating new coal and gas projects,” they said.
‘True environmental misinformation is pretending to care about climate action while approving new coal and gas mines that worsen the climate crisis. Labor are climate crooks, voting with Peter Dutton’s climate-denying Liberals to speed up offshore gas projects, silence First Nations voices and circumvent environmental protections, all while pretending to care about the climate.
“At the next election, the Greens will inform the people of Sydney about each and every coal and gas mine that Tanya Plibersek has approved as Environment Minister.”
The Environment Minister was asked about the incident on Thursday morning, hours after Daily Mail Australia revealed the offending post had been removed.
Daily Mail Australia understands that an MP raised concerns about the content of Mr Bandt’s video and approached the Sergeant-at-Arms about it.
That anonymous MP said in his complaint: ‘I am shocked that a member of the House has misrepresented parliamentary procedures.
“The MP has published a video that I believe contravenes the rules for media-related activities in Parliament and its grounds.”
Under the parliamentary media code, photographs and footage of parliamentary proceedings must represent those proceedings fairly and accurately and must not be digitally manipulated.
On March 25, just a day after the video was shared online, the sergeant-at-arms wrote to Bandt’s office, instructing him to remove the video.
It then moved on to harrowing videos of the various bushfires and floods that have hit Australia in recent years, showing images of people and animals in danger as a result of the environmental disasters.
Bandt accused Plibersek of “accelerating” environmental crises and making “dubious deals” in a Facebook post on Sunday.
The offending video was still available online on Wednesday morning, but has since been removed.
Ms Plibersek’s speech referenced in the clip was in response to a question about how the government’s approval process is “helping to turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower”.
Ms Plibersek said in her response: “Since coming into government, we have flagged more than 45 renewable energy projects, and I have another 128 before me for assessment.”
He specifically referred to the approval of two wind farms that will generate enough electricity to supply a total of 800,000 homes.
‘It’s not just renewable energy projects that we are evaluating more quickly; They are all of those projects: they are the housing projects, they are the transportation projects and they are the resource projects.
“We know… that renewable energy is cleaner and cheaper.”
He specifically referred to the approval of two wind farms that will generate enough electricity to supply a total of 800,000 homes.
The speech referenced in the video was actually a response to a question about how the approval process is “helping to turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower”.
The Greens have criticized misinformation and misinformation in Australian politics and media.
They introduced a bill in June 2023 attempting to establish a Royal Commission into Murdoch-owned News Corp media after raising concerns about misinformation.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said misinformation is a “growing threat to our democracy, whether spread through large social media platforms or by large multinational media corporations, such as Murdoch Media.”
The Greens also called for a “truth commission” following the defeat of the Indigenous Voice referendum to Parliament, accusing opposition leader Peter Dutton of creating “a corrosive disinformation campaign”.
“Peter Dutton is the master of misinformation and there is now an urgent need to tell the truth and heal,” Bandt said at the time.
“Peter Dutton sowed fear and division with a Trumpian disinformation campaign.”
Bandt has also been under pressure and has been accused of applying double standards over his use of private jets while pushing for tougher measures against climate change.
Bandt accused Plibersek of “accelerating” environmental crises and making “dubious deals” in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Last month it was revealed that Bandt had racked up a bill of nearly $1 million in one year, including hundreds of thousands on printing and two private jet flights.
The anti-fossil fuel campaigner also claimed $12,000 for a taxpayer-provided vehicle and a petrol subsidy, plus $29,000 for rides and taxis from the government COMCAR, according to Department of Finance figures.
Despite his party’s core policy of reducing C02 emissions, Bandt used two private planes during the 2022 election campaign, carrying taxpayers with the $23,000 bill.
One flight was between Queensland regional hubs Townsville and Rockhampton on March 7.
However, he also took a $15,000 private jet along the busy Brisbane to Canberra route to attend the launch of his party’s election campaign.
During the year, Bandt also spent $57,000 on domestic flights and a whopping $372,000 on travel expenses for his 21 employees.
The $963,166 in expenses accrued by Bandt are in addition to his $314,000 salary and do not include the salaries of his personal staff.