Minister will release five-yearly report which she says details ‘alarming story’ of native species extinction and cultural heritage loss
Tanya Plibersek says a damning national environmental report card received by the former Coalition government last year but not released, tells an “alarming story” of decline, native species extinction and cultural heritage loss.
In one of her first interviews as the new federal environment and water minister, Plibersek said the state of the environment report – a five-yearly official scientific assessment – would be released when she gave a National Press Club address on 19 July. It would help inform changes Labor planned to strengthen the country’s widely criticised national environment laws, she said.
She wanted Australia, which has one of the world’s largest marine parks areas, to take a global leadership role in ocean protection. She plans to attend the UN ocean conference in Portugal next week.
She would release the water for the environment special account report – on the recovery of environmental water in the Murray-Darling Basin – after parliament returned in July.
Her impression of the environment department was of “fantastic, highly professional, skilled public servants with real commitment to doing the job well”, but with an “extraordinary reliance” on contractors. She hoped to reduce that and have more permanent positions, in line with Labor policy.