As Plibersek moves out, Mr ‘Fix It' takes on plagued environment job
The government promised in 2022 to create a national environment watchdog and committed to pursuing broad reforms to nature protection laws, but failed to deliver either.
Plibersek began in the portfolio with a promise to end native species extinctions. She ended it on the outer with the environment lobby, which has been disappointed at the lack of new nature protections, and after a deal with the Greens to pass the Environment Protection Act in the Senate was scuppered by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese following vigorous lobbying against the bill from the mining industry and the Premier of Western Australia Roger Cook.
Albanese also weighed in on Plibersek's portfolio for a second time, in December, when he assured Tasmania's salmon farming industry its future was secure. This assurance appeared to preempt an ongoing review of commercial operations in Macquarie Harbour, on the state's west coast, due to its impact on the endangered Maugean skate.
Plibersek has been moved to the social services ministry, an appointment she welcomes with a social media statement saying she was 'delighted to be the minister for social services in the new Labor government', as it was an area she had long been interested in. She takes on responsibility for the department that oversees welfare spending – the single largest expenditure in the federal budget – as well as issues close to her heart, such as domestic violence prevention and gender equality.
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Watt, who earned a reputation as a fixer in the emergency services, agriculture and then industrial affairs portfolios in the first term of the Albanese government, said he was thrilled to be appointed Minister for the Environment.
'Our natural environment and water supply is the foundation of life on Earth and only a Labor government can advance its long-term conservation,' he said.
The former workplace and industrial relations minister is a key powerbroker from Queensland, riding high in the party for delivering a swathe of seats in the state.
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Sydney Morning Herald
6 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Aid to Gaza has been co-opted and weaponised
Sean Kelly says the 'unsayable' — the Israeli government is starving Gazans (' The moral test for Labor has shifted on Gaza: Words are not enough', July 28.). In March 2025, Israel prohibited the delivery of aid to Gazans by independent organisations such as the UN, replacing it with the Israeli-appointed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) which provides aid sporadically. Netanyahu insists that Hamas was looting independent deliveries. No evidence of this has ever been revealed. On the contrary, facts indicate that, until March, enough aid was getting through to prevent starvation. Since then, the GHF has failed to provide adequately for Gazans. Even the American head of GHF, Jake Wood, has resigned because the aid plan failed to uphold the principles of humanity, neutrality and impartiality. He acknowledged that he witnessed innocent Gazans being fired upon while seeking aid. Netanyahu argues that Hamas must be defeated before aid can flow freely. He also vowed to 'defeat' Hamas in 2014. How much longer must starving Gazans wait? Nell Knight, Avoca Beach I think Premier Chris Minns needs to read the room better (' Pro-Palestine demonstration across Sydney Harbour Bridge to be blocked ', July 28). The Sydney Harbour Bridge carrying tens of thousands protesting against the starvation in Gaza would send a powerful image about Australians' attitudes about the current situation to the world. It would have far more impact than the words of politicians. What's the point of having such iconic locations that are immediately identifiable without being able to leverage them? Dale Bailey, St Leonards It was with some distress that I saw reports of the opposition's Dan Tehan pulling the 'where are the facts?' card on Gaza. Is this the blood-stained hill the Liberal Party wish to take a stand on? Politics so often sweeps real human choices under the rug, saying 'that's politics', or 'someone needs to make the tough decisions', divesting themselves of any real choice in the matter. The tough decision would have been to support the government to do anything it can to find a solution whereby civilians do not get slaughtered, and preventing the creation of a new generation of vengeance-fuelled agents of change. A moral party should be helping disclose the facts together with the government. You want the facts? Then go looking for them together. Stop treating politics like a two-team football league. Be a team player for the country and a better world instead. James Cottam, Enmore The opposition's insistence that criticism of the Israeli government be muted because it's all Hamas' fault sounds a lot like support for the infamous domestic violence excuse: 'Look what you made me do.' Tom Mangan, Woy Woy Please allow me to make the point that Hamas is not forcing Israel to use the tactics being employed – it is Israel's policy. Israel has never in reality 'targeted' Hamas. Witness the fact the 'war' is still going after 21 months, which may well be the intention. John Christie, Oatley Cost of addiction Addicted to smoking, many pensioners who don't have access to illicit tobacco actually do put their addiction before their need for food (' Jail time and evictions: Labor announces crackdown on illegal tobacco ', July 28). This isn't of any concern apparently to state and federal governments, whose focus is on the criminal syndicates and 'dealers″ in this strong drug and the revenue taxed on its hooked users, which for a moderate habit, a pack a day, is more than $300 a week and for a heavy smoker as I used to be, 60 plus daily, now attracts $50,000 per annum. Nicotine is acknowledged to be as or more addictive than heroin. These crises are totally the predictable results of policies which have backfired and now appear to be soon to cause more misery as the crime enforcement is ramped up to try to redirect revenue away from criminals who exploit millions of addicts. Andrew Cohen, Glebe The government and the anti-tobacco and vaping lobby groups are wasting their time. Draconian taxation and prohibition does not work. I can understand that they have the best of intentions, and have been chuffed that their jackbooted approach was considered the toughest in the world, but we live in a free country and a more mature, respectful approach to those who choose to smoke and vape is recommended. With a cut in taxes and the legalisation of vaping (including applying a lower level of taxation) the illicit trade would crumble and products would again be properly regulated. This is what every other developed, free country has done. Peter Barrett, Woonona Calming cannabis Cannabis is effectively legal. I have neither bought nor consumed it, but many people I know do it regularly (' The cannabis factory: How one doctor wrote 72,000 scripts in two years ', July 28). It is cheaper than alcohol and nicotine-derived products. It calms the user down and so reduces the level of violence and anxiety that are symptomatic of other drugs. True, it stays in the system longer and can still have long-term negative side-effects. But properly taxed and regulated, cannabis would be a better companion than Jack Daniels and Peter Stuyvesant. David Neilson, Araluen (NT) Joyce wide of target As part of his mission to demolish the net-zero emissions target, Barnaby Joyce declares that he wants people to have the cheapest forms of power generation, which he says are coal and nuclear (' Why Barnaby's war on net zero's already sunk ', July 26). If Barnaby were to have a look at the Open Electricity (National Electricity Market) website, he would soon see that renewables consistently come into the market at a cheaper price than coal. And given that most of our coal-fired power stations are reaching the end of their lives, it is even clearer that the price of coal-fired power will be way more expensive once the costs of building new power stations are factored in. Catherine Rossiter, Fadden (ACT) Amid his ramblings on climate change, Barnaby Joyce did make a valid point. Even if Australia's domestic energy consumption involved 100 per cent zero emissions, this would have negligible effect on global warming. For Australia to achieve any significant effect, we would need to cease exports of our coal and gas. But the annual revenue from these sources is respectively about $55 billion and $90 billion dollars. Are we as a nation prepared to forego this money, and how would it affect our economy? Regarding net zero emissions, there may be times when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow, meaning that we would occasionally need to fall back on gas temporarily to generate instant power. Perhaps total net zero is an illusion. Bruce Johnson, Lakewood The writers to this letters page are constantly questioning why the voters of New England consistently elect Barnaby Joyce as an MP (Letters, July 28). The simple reason is that most people in New England electorate enjoy a standard of living that is better than the average Australian and, as such, vote conservatively, the way their parents and grandparents voted. Barnaby is simply the beneficiary of that tradition. John Maunder, Quirindi Correspondent Neil Ormerod doesn't seem to understand the way the world works (Letters, July 27), and his analogy of coal being like heroin is taking it too far. At this point, the world needs fossil fuel. Countries around the world realise this. Has Neil heard of supply and demand? If we don't supply it, somebody else will. That is a fact. So Australia stopping exports will make absolutely zero difference, as will net zero make zero difference to the weather. Peter Phizacklea, Sydney Modern myths Ross Gittins tells us that the economics profession 'has never worried too much about ethics' (' When they say 'modelling', grab your bulldust detector ', July 28). This, surely, is a bit harsh. Really, the problem with the economics profession is that it has bought into two modern mythologies. These are that eternal growth is possible – it isn't – and that any benefits of improved productivity will flow through to working people – it won't. Until these myths are recognised and refuted, we will remain in this seemingly endless cycle of hand wringing. Greg Baker, Fitzroy Falls Strip-search violations Kate's story illustrates the dangers of this invasive, intimidating violation of personal safety (' No drugs found in 70,000-plus strip-searches ', July 28). In my view, strip-searches of adults, if deemed to be both absolutely necessary and completely lawful, should not as far as possible be carried out by police but by trained medical and trauma-informed care personnel. Moreover, police strip-searching of minors anywhere anytime is tantamount to institutionally sanctioned child abuse and should be totally banned. Meredith Williams, Baulkham Hills History shows that prohibition doesn't work. Even the financial pseudo-prohibition of cigarettes is failing. Meanwhile, in Portugal, where drug possession has been decriminalised, drug use has not increased, but there has been a significant increase in people entering rehabilitation. Overdoses, deaths and drug-related offences have been dramatically reduced. Decriminalisation of drug possession/usage, drug-testing facilities and increased funding for rehabilitation does work, with further evidence in Oregon and Washington state trials in America. Our politicians need to stop worrying about how strong they appear and focus on what works. The carrot always beats the stick, especially with the young. Rowan Godwin, Rozelle Could it be that the harms caused by police in using sniffer dogs and strip-searching young people are greater than those purportedly caused by the drugs themselves? Either way, I'd like to see the police searching people of all ages at the restaurant at the NSW Parliament. It would only take that to occur once and the practice would cease overnight. Well, Mr Minns? Shaun Davies, St Peters The push to eliminate strip-searches is both wrong and dangerous. The number of people found with drugs is small because of the fear of being nabbed. The message that the use of illegal drugs is criminal is a good one. Roger Cedergreen, Kirrawee Marina madness It's great to see residents fighting to stop the extension of the Woolwich marina (' Outrage at bid to expand marina ' July 28). We lost the battle in Blackwattle Bay. The new fish market is being built in the bay instead of on the existing site. New marinas and extensions are appearing and recreational activities such as rowing and dragon boat racing are increasingly problematic. The bay is fast becoming a pond like Darling Harbour, surrounded by commercial interests. Keep up the good fight to stop it happening on your side of the harbour. Richard Spencer, Glebe Higher ground In July 2022, at the height of the devastating rains and floods that followed the Black Summer bushfires, there was a call for Warragamba Dam's wall to be raised by 14 metres. Perhaps, with what we have learned now, the call should have been for developers to raise houses built on the floodplains by 14 metres (Letters, July 28). My cottage on a tributary of the Hawkesbury River was built in 1953 as a family fishing retreat by someone who knew about water and how it behaves. Yes, the water rose alarmingly three years ago, but the older houses here were safe because they had been built well back from the river many years ago by people who knew their trade. Alexandra Szalay, Coba Point All about size It's hardly surprising that Springwood residents value convenience, choice and apparent competition (' Woolies plan splits suburb' ', July 28). However, closer reading of the DA exposes the following serious shortcomings: extra pedestrian crossings, a roundabout fenced against pedestrians, an extra two customer carparks and an underground truck loading bay. All this in a tiny section of road a mere 150 metres long which is also the only access road to two childcare centres and the community's cultural precinct (theatre, community hub, library, gallery). There is ample evidence that a development of such magnitude cannot fail to damage the businesses and prosperity of any community. Residents are not necessarily opposed to this proposal, but to the sheer scale of it. We just want the best outcome for Springwood. Only the Blue Mountains residents know how to cut off their nose to spite their amenity. As a former resident of Leura for four years and then Springwood in the 80s and 90s, I remember fondly all the campaigns to keep development out of the Blue Mountains – Kmart in Katoomba, Fairmont Resort in Leura, Macca's in Blaxland. We lived in Springwood for eight of those years and how I would have loved a new Woolworths to walk up to, instead of having to drive to Winmalee, Katoomba or even Penrith Plaza to do more detailed shopping. There are many things I would have preferred not to have ever changed, but fortunately the splendid Blue Mountains themselves always knows how to outshine any crass developments. Reina French, Oak Flats Local control best I support Joanna Mendelssohn's support for council owned and operated childcare centres (Letters, July 27). This seems to be a field where good profits are assured – three large new centres have recently been built in my surrounding suburbs. This is a sector where council-owned and other non-profit agencies could have been encouraged. The federal Liberals had a fondness for small businesses and struck out in the profit-driven direction. Sadly, the cat is now out of the bag. David Rose, Nollamara (WA)
Sky News AU
11 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley outlines what it would take for Coalition to dump net zero as debate divides both parties
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has explained the key questions a Coalition energy policy must address, amid a heated debate within the Liberal and Nationals parties over net zero policy. Ms Ley told Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell she wanted to develop an energy policy which focussed on manufacturing and the aspirations of Australian business owners, while making power more affordable and reducing emissions. The Opposition Leader said a working group led by Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan will "flesh out" the partyroom's different perspectives and will assess expert advice on the issue. "We have to work through this policy process, and I'm not foreshadowing what the outcome will be. It will be underpinned by two fundamental things, playing our part to responsibly and transparently reduce emissions as we should, and also have a stable, reliable energy grid that provides affordable energy for households and businesses," she said. "I think most people would agree the government is failing on both of them. Cost is going up and emissions are going up too." On net zero, Ms Ley refused to contend with Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce's call to scrap the policy, but agreed there was an "over-reliance" on renewable energy, hinting at a possible decision to leave net zero behind in the future. Ms Ley said "we do have time" to come to a final call on net zero, noting the Coalition's election loss was "not quite three months ago" while the next election was three years away. She said Labor held the "levers" on the Australia's net zero approach, and that the Coalition would "hold them to account" for the "train wreck" the government had created on energy policy. "The government owns current energy policy and we will hold them to account for the absolute train wreck that it's become," Ms Ley said. Ms Ley was also asked about the Labor government's Economic Reform Roundtable in August, in which tax hikes have been rumoured to be put forward as a fix-all approach to the slump in productivity and rising budget deficits. The Opposition Leader said she was "hoping for some good ideas,but I'm not holding my breath", and confirmed shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien would be present during discussions. "We'll be talking to the people who are sitting in that room, but many of them have said privately to me that they're going to speak up during and after that meeting because the problem we have here is Labor's got advice to say, 'you're going to need to raise taxes because the budget is broken,'" she said. "But they haven't said they have a plan to do anything other than that. So what that tells me is already they're baking in an outcome from this productivity roundtable that is all about raising taxes." Ms Ley said in her view that the path to prosperity was through growth in the private sector. "It's not about making the expenditure of the government more efficient. It's about growing businesses, which of course energy is a critical part of," she said. "It's all about recognising that the pathway to prosperity is through growth. It's through the private sector. It's to the Australians we back every day who are out there giving back, taking risks, having a crack." The Opposition Leader was also pressed on the harrowing images emerging from Gaza after Israel was pressured to open more channels for aid to enter the war-torn enclave. Ms Ley expressed she was "distressed" by the images of starvation coming out of Gaza but urged that Hamas must return Israeli hostages to end the war. She said the Palestinian people "deserved so much better" after its Hamas leadership had "let them down for decades". The Opposition Leader declined to respond to reports that the images depicting starvation in Gaza were fake and insisted that there needed to be "partners in the peace process" representing Palestinians. Ms Ley was asked to respond to 2011 comments she made in which she sympathised with the Palestinian people, and that they had been "airbrushed out of history". "I am a friend to the Palestinian people, I'm not a friend of their leadership, I'm not a friend of Hamas, how could anyone be?" she said.
7NEWS
2 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stares down internal push for Palestine recognition
The prime minister is staring down internal pressure to recognise a Palestinian state as Labor figures decry the 'unspeakable cruelty' being thrust on civilians in Gaza. Anthony Albanese has been urged to follow in the footsteps of his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, but on Sunday said he would not 'imminently' recognise Palestinian statehood. Both major parties in Australia support a two-state solution for Palestinians and Israelis, however Albanese said any resolution would need to guarantee Hamas, the de-facto ruling authority in Gaza, played no part in the future nation. There would also need to be agreements on the rebuilding of Gaza and the West Bank, and a resolution of issues over the expansion of Israeli settlements. But former Labor frontbencher Ed Husic pointed out that recognition of a Palestinian state had been part of Labor's national platform since at least 2018. 'We've already green-lighted it through our party, we've taken it to elections — the circumstances demand it,' the MP told reporters in Canberra on Monday. 'The announcement by the (Israeli) government to partition or reshape the way in which borders exist in Gaza means that we need to send a strong signal that we are opposed to that.' Former Labor Foreign Minister Bob Carr echoed the call. There were ways to address the various obstacles to the new nation being established, he said, adding those considerations were outweighed by a 'bigger fact and bigger truth'. 'Deaths are coming fast, unspeakable cruelty is being visited against babies and children in the enforcement of something not seen in the modern world — that is, an advanced state using mass starvation as a weapon of war and giving effect to a genocide,' he said. 'We will insist that the Palestinian state that comes into being will be one that opts to be a non-militarised state ... that is a serious security guarantee that can be delivered in negotiations, and which the Palestinians have already offered.' More than 140 out of the 193 members of the United Nations already recognise the state of Palestine, including EU members Spain and Ireland. The international push to recognise Palestine has been fuelled by the escalating crisis in Gaza, where more than two million people are facing starvation. Israel cut off aid to Gaza in March before re-opening channels under tight restrictions in May, measures it says are necessary to stop the supplies being diverted to fund Hamas operations. Its officials say enough food has been let into Gaza during the war and Hamas is responsible for the suffering of civilians. Israel's military offensive has already killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza. The campaign began after Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation in Australia, attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 people and took 251 hostages. Opposition frontbencher Dan Tehan said Hamas was responsible for continuing to 'politicise and weaponise the use of aid in Gaza'. Multiple aid organisations, including Amnesty and Medecins Sans Frontieres, have condemned the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for the trickle of aid being supplied in recent months.
