POLITICIAN DATABASE
A bit of a refresher...
Labor narrowly formed majority government at the last federal election (21st May 2022) with 77 / 151 representative seats, while the Coalition had 58 seats, and the Greens had 4. Neither party holds a majority in the Senate, but the Coalition has 32 seats to Labor's 26. The Prime Minister is Anthony Albanese. The next federal election will be held on or before 27th September 2025.
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The Premier of NSW is Chris Minns of Labor as of 2023.
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The Premier of QLD is Steven Miles of Labor as of 2023.
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The Premier of Victoria is Jacinta Allan of Labor as of 2023.
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The Premier of WA is Roger Cook of Labor as of 2023.
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The Chief Minister of the NT is Eva Lawler of Labor as of 2023.
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The Premier of SA is Peter Malinauskas of Labor as of 2022.
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The Premier of Tasmania is Jeremy Rockcliff of the Liberals as of 2022.
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The Chief Minister of the ACT is Andrew Barr of Labor as of 2014.
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Committed to reducing green house gas emissions in Australia 43% by 2030
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Committed to investing in upskilling workers to handle the energy transition and supporting nationwide battery storage
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Supported the introduction of carbon pricing, but called the strategy outdated once abolished by Abbott’s government
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Agreed to rehome Tuvalu’s entire population of 11,200 in Australia, since they’re being pushed out due to rising sea levels
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Has ensured the Sun Cable Project to Singapore and Indonesia is back on track, as part of a green trade partnership helping Indonesia and other neighbouring Asian countries to meet their Paris commitments
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Supports solar, hydro, green steel and wind power
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Has allocated $3B to investing in methane reduction, green steel and green hydrogen ​
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Albanese has described on multiple occasions his personal vision for a green energy economy, and the imperative to act immediately on AGW
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Oversaw the allocation of $14.5M to the creation of 10 new IPAs - Indigenous Protected Areas - in 2023, part of a 5-year commitment to invest over $230M into the expansion of the IPA program.
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She is committed to “[ensuring] Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are an active part of the energy transformation,” and “[improving] access to cheaper, cleaner energy,” by “investing $83.8 million in the First Nations Community Microgrids program.”
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Responsible for allocating an additional $359M to the Indigenous Rangers Program in a bid to double their numbers by 2030 and harness First Nations knowledge to combat wildfires.
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Quoted as saying in 2023: “As a government we have heard loud and clear that it is time to get on and deliver First Nations water access and ownership. Both Minister Plibersek and I are fully committed to working across government and with First Nations peoples to make this happen.”
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Bowen has repeatedly made it clear that he believes “The best way to lower energy prices... is by increasing firmed renewables across our grid, it is the cheapest and most abundant form of energy…” Bowen is however supportive of new gas projects, saying, “Gas is important to ensuring Australia’s increasingly renewable grid is reliable... providing… electricity into the grid at key times to back up the flow of energy from solar and wind.”
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With the passage of Labor’s Climate Bill in August 2022, Bowen highlighted offshore wind as a key strategy to meet Labor’s 82% renewables by 2030 goal, having signed off the day before on a “60-day consultation process to declare the coast of Gippsland as an offshore wind zone,” describing the technology as “jobs-rich and energy-rich.”
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In June he oversaw the issue of the government’s inaugural $7B sustainable finance bond, which “gives investors from around the world the opportunity to back… projects in Australia which are crucial to climate change mitigation.”
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Bowen referred to Dutton’s nuclear plan as a scam.
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In late 2022 Plibersek announced a major overhaul to Australia’s environmental laws, summarised in the Financial Review as: “accelerat[ing] approvals for renewables… while imposing a new water constraint on unconventional shale gas and forcing businesses to show how they are helping meet Australia’s 43 per cent emissions reduction target.” These plans also included establishing a new environmental watchdog, “charged with policing businesses, landowners and developers.”
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These promises manifested in the Environmental Legislation Amendment Act 2022, strengthening the Environment Protection Authority, and the Nature Positive Bill 2024, creating Environment Protection Australia and Environment Information Australia. While the original EPA is responsible for creating guidelines, the new EPA is an enforcer, and the EIA is responsible for providing the government with data on ecological trends. The enforcer was first tasked with addressing “illegal land clearing and [carbon] offset conditions.”
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Plibersek has declared her intention to transition Australia to a circular economy. Like Bowen, she believes that gas has a role to play in filling out the supply of renewables until storage is sufficient.
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Wong has launched the Australia-Pacific Climate Infrastructure Partnership, designed “to support climate-related infrastructure and energy projects in Pacific countries and Timor-Leste,” saying, “Climate change is the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific. The urgency of climate action for our Pacific family is raised with me everywhere I go.”
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She has overseen Australia’s further commitment of $80M to the Global Environment Facility, an international fund which “provides critical support for developing countries on climate action.”
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Oversaw the allocation of an additional $100M to the Pacific Resilience Facility and $50M to the Green Climate Fund, as well as $75M for “off-grid[,] community scale renewable energy in remote and rural parts of the Pacific.”
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Oversaw an agreement to resettle 280 Tuvaluans per year as they retreat from rising sea levels.
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Opposed to nuclear power as being too costly and the plants taking too long to set up in Australia to meet emissions targets in the next 5-10 years.
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O’Connor sees rebuilding Australian manufacturing and transitioning to a green economy as going hand in hand.​ In his launch speech for the ‘Towards a Renewable Energy Superpower’ Report, O’Connor pointed to Labor’s National Reconstruction Fund as a way for the government to funnel money to priority economic areas for the green transition, from developing renewable supply chains to “making sure people have the right education and training [which] is central to meeting our Net Zero obligations.”
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Earlier this year he also announced the expansion of the ‘New Energy Apprenticeships Program,’ an initiative which “provides incentives to encourage more people into sectors that are playing a critical role in transitioning Australia to a net zero economy.” The program will now also “respond to issues raised by industry during consultations about the practical [challenges]… as they transition to clean energy,” in part by expanding the range of apprenticeships eligible for support.
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Finally, in June O’Connor announced WA's Clean Energy Skills National Centre of Excellence, intended to be “a leader in clean energy science, engineering, construction and operation.”
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Husic was responsible for establishing the $15B National Reconstruction Fund in 2023, including $3B to support the manufacturing of low emissions technologies (see O'Connor's segment)
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In 2023 Husic added clean energy systems to the list of critical technologies given “national security protection” (AFR) in Australia.
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In 2023 Husic announced that in Round 24 of the CRC Program, $127M would be invested in research to “cut emissions in the agriculture sector and eliminate plastic waste.”
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Husic likely also contributed to Labor's 2023 reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism, as the policy involves ‘reducing emissions at [215 of] Australia’s largest industrial facilities;’ the same goes for the Rewiring the Nation program, which is investing $20B into updating the electric grid, and the $500M Battery Breakthrough Initiative.
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Husic’s department is responsible for opening government contracts for public procurement of renewable technologies - for example, in 2024 Husic jointly announced the next $15M allocation to a Port Kembla hydrogen electrolyser facility, part of a total $172M investment.
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Chalmers has restarted government modelling of the impact of climate change on Australia’s economy after this research was abandoned for 9 years, saying, “[The] Treasury’s modelling will help us chart a path that maximises jobs and opportunities for our country as we take advantage of this transformation.”
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In June 2023, Chalmers, Bowen and their NZ counterparts established a Net Zero Government Working Group to “support decarbonising public services, climate‑related disclosures, and sustainable procurement.” In the same month the Treasury began industry consultation on implementing “Mandatory reporting... for Australia’s largest... companies,” for example on their progress with emissions reduction.
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In January his department released the drafts of reforming legislation intended to “maximise the economic opportunities of cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy and manage climate change risks.” In June they released the Sustainable Finance Roadmap, to “help investors... make the most of the global [energy] transformation.”
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In her previous position as Shadow Health Minister, she and Butler devised the National Strategy on Climate Change and Health, released in 2023; she stated, “The health impacts of climate change are not a concern purely for the future, they are with us here and now.”
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She sees an “opportunity for infrastructure investment to play a constructive role in tackling climate change…” Specifically she identifies supporting renewables and improving public transport as key areas for this.
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Shortly after election in 2022, King opened consultation to shape the National Electric Vehicle Strategy, which was released in April 2023. This came with the promise of a new Vehicle Efficiency Standard, introduced to parliament in May this year, with the law coming into effect next January.
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Along with Bowen, King signed Australia up for the Green Shipping Challenge at COP27 in 2022.
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King also established the Net Zero Unit in her department, intended to advise her portfolio on reaching net zero, and make sure regional communities are benefiting from the transition.
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In 2023 King and Bowen announced ARENA's $30M to “make sustainable aviation fuel a reality…”
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In November 2022 Farrell signed the “landmark” Australia-Singapore Green Economy Agreement, with the aim of “strengthening economic collaboration in green growth sectors and harnessing the opportunities of the global energy transition.” It is a priority of his to “entice... investment in Australia's renewable energy sector,” by showcasing our technology on the world stage.
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His department is responsible for the THRIVE 2030 strategy, which he describes as “Australia's national strategy for the long-term sustainable growth of the visitor economy.” This includes the National Sustainability Framework, and the ATIC's Tourism Emissions Reduction Program.
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He and Wong are jointly responsible for allocating almost $19M to help Indo-Pacific neighbours engage with the WTO, including, “identifying ways trade can bolster... climate adaptation plans.”
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In response to Dutton’s plans to weaken Labor’s current climate policy, Farrell said, “Everywhere I go… countries congratulate us for making our contribution to getting down to net zero. I think it would seriously damage our international relationships if the rest of the world suddenly sees that we are not committed…”
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In a 2021 opinion piece for the AFR, King noted that carbon taxes on imports to the EU, UK and US are designed to (and will) “hit nations, like Australia, that have made insufficient efforts to combat climate change.” However, she also wrote that “different countries will have different paths to net zero… Many will continue to need our coal and iron ore for steel-making – which in turn will be used to build wind turbines…”
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During an energy crisis in mid-2022, she called for more gas exploration in Australia’s east, and in August, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, “slated… 50,000 square kilometres of undersea real estate in the waters off Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory…” for exploration.
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King sees coal and gas as continuing to be “crucial for quite some time,” but thinks that mining critical minerals for the renewable transition “could rival the development of the iron ore and LNG industries.” She is also part of the Otis Group.
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King has expressed support for CCS - which, according to the AFR, “provides a pathway for the gas industry to continue operating on a net-zero basis.” In 2023 she released a suite of potential locations for capture and storage facilities.
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Dreyfus previously served as Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. During this time he launched a $946M Biodiversity Fund to support landowners in managing and restoring existing carbon sinks like old-growth forests, part of his Clean Energy Future legislation.
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He recently oversaw the creation of Australia’s submission to the ICJ (International Court of Justice) regarding countries’ legal obligations “to protect the global climate system from greenhouse gas emissions”.
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He has described himself as “a strong advocate for social justice and [someone who] believes in creating a sustainable economy and environment for future generations,” labelling AGW as one of his key areas of interest.
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Between 1979 and 1981 he was a field officer of the Northern Land Council in Darwin.
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Addressing allegations of Labor not meeting its 2030 emissions reduction goals, Butler stated that, “the emissions projections that were released in December… show we’re on track… It's obviously important to get our emissions down and to prevent a very serious climate crisis. But importantly, it [also] underpins the investment we need to secure our jobs, future and economic prosperity into the future.”
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During his time as Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Butler published the book Climate Wars, which according to Melbourne University Publishing, “makes a forceful case for using less and cleaner energy as part of global action to save the planet.”
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Even before taking on the health portfolio, he identified climate change as “the defining health challenge of of the 21st century,” calling the link between AGW and human activity as clear as that of “tobacco use and lung cancer.”
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Quoted as saying in 2022: “We believe that the Australian Public Service can set the benchmark on emission reductions and inspire other major workplaces to follow suit.
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“This commitment will work to complement the ambitious work that the Albanese Government is already doing here in our own workforce to reduce the APS’s emissions and get to net zero by 2030.
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“Reducing public sector emissions is not only a strong signal of how serious the government is about reducing emissions more broadly in Australia, but will also over time, save taxpayers money, and of course, have a positive impact on the environment.”
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On a personal level, Gallagher was motivated to join politics when she found herself dependent on welfare after the death of her fiancé, and was grateful that the system functioned so efficiently
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In her role as Shadow Minister for Early Education and Development, Rishworth was accused of being a member of the Otis Group, a coal-supporting faction of the Labor party; however she remained opposed to climate denialism, calling the net-zero transition “an economic opportunity for Australia,” and saying that Labor would take action on climate change “in a sensible way.”
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In a Sky News interview in 2020 she said of Morrison’s Coalition government at the time, “When it comes to climate change, when it comes to recycling, there is no plan. You put out press releases, you put out spin, but there’s no plan.”
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In an ABC interview the following year, she said, “This Government has been in power for eight years… [they] have failed when it comes to setting a target… But based on… the fact that [they] really ridiculed Labor when we came out to support a net zero target by 2050, I’m not holding my breath when it comes to this Government’s action.”
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According to the ABC, Rishworth previously served “in the Gillard government in the areas of disabilities, carers, environment and water.”
