TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
ABC NEWS WEEKEND BREAKFAST
SATURDAY, 12 APRIL 2025
SUBJECTS: Tariffs; Environment; Federal Election; Labor’s plan for a new, free swimming spot on the Harbour.
MICHAEL TETLOW, HOST: The countdown to the federal election is well and truly underway with just three weeks to go before Australians head to the ballot box. Okay, joining us now in the studio Labor Environment Minister, Tania Plibersek. Minister, thank you so much for coming in today.
TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Great to be with you.
TETLOW: You were saying you've covered 48 seats or something so far in this campaign, absolutely just chaotic times, almost as chaotic as Donald Trump's tariffs for this week. That roller coaster. I mean, for people watching in it's, you just don't know what's coming, but for a government that's hoping for re-election, it must just be, well, an incredible situation for you.
PLIBERSEK: Well, it is a reminder that the Australian economy has turned a corner, and we are absolutely on the right track here domestically. We're well prepared and in a better place than most other nations to deal with this uncertainty. But no one likes to look on as the two biggest economies in the world play chicken, and I think for Americans, this is actually also a very confusing time as well. I think a lot of Americans, when they start to see prices rise domestically in the US, will begin to wonder why this is happening in the American economy. I mean, Australian beef goes into Big Macs. I don't think Americans want a Big Mac tax.
TETLOW: Yeah, absolutely. When it comes to the day to day campaigning, I mean that must be one of the first things that you and your colleagues look at is what's happened overnight in the US.
PLIBERSEK: Well, of course we do. I think the whole world is looking on at the moment at the changes to the tariff regimes and wondering what it means for their domestic economy. We're in a fortunate position. We don't export a lot to the United States. We've got very strong trading relationships with our region. We've restored trade with China, that's worth about $18 billion, very important for our farmers to restore that trading relationship. Of course, we look to South East Asia. We've just signed a new trade agreement with the UAE as well, which gives us a gateway into the Middle East. We'll continue to diversify our trading relationships to make sure that Australian business is able to export to the world, because we make great products.
FAUZIAH IBRAHIM, HOST: Minister, I want to turn to your portfolio, and now the environment portfolio. Now, last year, the Prime Minister scuffed this deal that you've made with the Greens over the creation of an Environment -
PLIBERSEK: Well, I just want to stop you there. The Greens never agreed to the proposal we made on environment law. There was no agreement.
IBRAHIM: It seemed like they were, you were very close to agreeing to an EPA legislation.
PLIBERSEK: Well we got, we got the legislation through the House of Representatives in July, it went up to the Senate, and it sat there month after month after month with the Greens and the Liberals uniting to block it. The Greens never agreed to back the law reform that we proposed. I'm sad about that, because this would have been Australia's first Environment Protection Agency with strong new powers and penalties, new environmental data, it would have had transparency, the world first definition of nature positive. None of that was agreed to by the Greens political party. And on the other side, we had much stronger data, which meant faster, cheaper decisions for business, and the Liberals wouldn't back that. So, yeah, I'm disappointed that the second tranche of our law reform didn't pass, but you need to look at who's responsible for that, and that's the Liberals and the Greens who couldn't agree, either of them, to compromise on extraordinary demands and allow this progress to go through.
IBRAHIM: If Labor was to be re-elected, will you be revisiting this legislation?
PLIBERSEK: We've said that we want to establish an EPA. We want to see stronger environmental laws. Our laws are 25 years old. They're not fit for purpose, they don't protect the environment, they're not good for business. We know we need to reform them, but it's going to take common sense and compromise, and that means the Greens can't hold out for everything they want, and the Liberals and the Nationals will have to agree to better protect our environment. We want better environmental protections and faster, clearer decision making. We can do both, but it's going to take common sense and compromise.
IBRAHIM: The Prime Minister also rushed through this legislation protecting the industry from - the salmon farming industry in Tasmania from environmental challenge. It has been reported that you were circumnavigated in relation to this decision. Were you consulted?
PLIBERSEK: No Labor government is going to allow the closure of a town like Strahan overnight and the jobs that go with the industry, the salmon industry in Macquarie Harbour. This was a failure and a flaw in the laws that John Howard passed 25 years ago that could have led to the overnight closure of an industry that supported a whole town on the West Coast of Tasmania. Of course.
IBRAHIM: Were you consulted?
PLIBERSEK: Yes, of course, of course, I've been involved in these discussions. What's important for the broader salmon industry in Tasmania is to work in a way that is environmentally sustainable, and the Tasmanian EPA has a strong role to play here. We've seen recently, there's been large scale fish deaths. It's important that this industry is well regulated and that it does meet its environmental responsibilities.
TETLOW: Minister, we live in uncertain times. We don't know what's around the corner with all sorts of things. Election campaigns are like that. Who knows what's going to happen on the 3rd of May. If on May 4, Prime Minister Peter Dutton gets up and does his acceptance speech. Will you be opposition leader?
PLIBERSEK: I'm feeling very anxious when you say that sentence. I'm working very hard for the re-election of an Albanese Labor government, and I feel good. I feel like Australians are taking a look at Peter Dutton and they don't like what he's selling. We're not cocky about this. It's a very close election. The polls will tell you that. But as Peter Dutton comes under greater scrutiny and he can't explain his nuclear policy - he seems to have dumped his nuclear policy because his gas policy doesn't mention his nuclear policy, and his nuclear policy doesn't mention his gas policy. He's saying that he wants to reverse tax cuts that we have already legislated for 14 million Australians. He can't stick to one position on work from home and public service cuts for more than a day. As people take a look at that uncertainty, that chaos, the Liberals' inability to select a candidate that can last the course of an election campaign, I don't think they like what they see.
TETLOW: But let's say you get through the gate. Would you like to be opposition leader?
PLIBERSEK: Oh I'm not going speculate about that. I'm not going to speculate about that for a moment.
IBRAHIM: Let's talk about Cockatoo Island, and Cockatoo Island will get a new pool.
PLIBERSEK: Yeah, I'm so excited about this. In fact, I'm off to Cockatoo Island after this. And Cockatoo Island has amazing history. It's got 65,000 years of First Nations history. It's got amazing convict buildings. It was a site of enormous ship building, especially during the Second World War. So it's got military history, and it's got this amazing convict built sandstone slipway. It's been there since 1857, largest in Australia at the time, the largest in the southern hemisphere, one of the largest in the world at that time. And we're going to make it into a harbour pool. It's going to be Sydney's newest free family attraction. You'll be able to hop on a ferry from Parramatta or from Sydney Olympic Park or Circular Quay, take the whole family there for just the cost of public transport, picnic rug, your cozzies and a towel. A wonderful day out.
TETLOW: I do have to ask. I'm from Perth, and as a tourist, I've been swimming in the one at Barangaroo. It's very weedy. Is this one going to be weedy as well?
PLIBERSEK: I tell you what, I hope it's weedy, and I'll tell you why - I mean it's sandstone so you know the bottom of it won't be weedy. But we want to re-establish the sea grass in Sydney Harbour, because that's where the beautiful little sea horses are.
TETLOW: Fair enough.
PLIBERSEK: And we're trying to attract - we've seen dolphins in the harbour, penguins, the seahorses, they're all coming back as we improve the quality of the water in Sydney Harbour. We want that.
TETLOW: All right, okay, we'll put up with the weeds. Sounds good.
IBRAHIM: Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, thank you very much for joining us.
PLIBERSEK: Thank you so much.
ENDS
