Article by Greg Brown, courtesy of The Australian
07.05.2025
Labor luminary Joel Fitzgibbon has taken aim at the Labor Environment Action Network, suggesting that its push for a 70 per cent 2035 emissions reduction target would cause “economic destruction”.
The pushback over Labor’s environmental wing comes as faction bosses meet in Canberra on Thursday to finalise the make-up of the ministry for the Albanese government’s second term.
While Mr Fitzgibbon said on election night the returned Labor government should use its thumping majority to undertake bold reform, the former Hunter MP rejected the push by LEAN for this to include more ambition on climate change and environmentalism.
“I said the PM’s political buffer gave him greater opportunity to progress economic reform, not economic destruction,” he told The Australian.
Mr Fitzgibbon was highly critical of LEAN after he nearly lost his coalmining seat of Hunter after the 2019 election, accusing the group of hurting Labor’s vote in regional electorates by pushing “fundamentalist” policies.
In The Australian on Wednesday, LEAN convener Felicity Wade urged Anthony Albanese to adopt a 70-plus per cent emissions-reduction target for 2035 and pass nature-positive laws within a year.
The group helped re-elect MPs as a “reward” for opposing the expansion of gas and championing the green cause within the first term of the Labor government, while also campaigning for Griffith candidate Renee Coffey, who is a member of LEAN.
The “climate and environment champs” given the “seal of approval” by LEAN were Bennelong MP Jerome Laxale, Macnamara MP Josh Burns, Reid MP Sally Sitou, Cooper MP Ged Kearney, Jagajaga MP Kate Thwaites, Canberra MP Alicia Payne and Fremantle MP Josh Wilson.
Ms Wade said having more environmental advocates within caucus was a “pretty key tactic for us”, signalling that the group would help campaign for MPs at the next election who pressured the Prime Minister on the issue.
Cabinet minister Murray Watt said the government would consider a 2035 emissions target later this year after receiving advice from the Climate Change Authority.
“There’s been changes of governments in a lot of countries which have influenced climate change policy right around the world, so they haven’t yet provided that advice to us,” Senator Watt told Sky News.
Faction bosses were in discussions on Wednesday about the make-up of the ministry, which will be finalised on Thursday and rubber-stamped by caucus on Friday.
The Left will receive an extra spot in the ministry, given that the faction now has a majority of MPs in caucus, forcing the Right to lose a minister.
The Victorians are demanding that a NSW Right male minister steps down as that faction is over-represented, which would threaten either Industry Minister Ed Husic or Education Minister Jason Clare.
NSW, however, is pushing for the extra Left spot to be filled by the Victorian Right vacancy that remains from the retirement of former NDIS minister Bill Shorten.
One new minister from the Left will be incoming Lyons MP and former Tasmanian Labor opposition leader Rebecca White.
Contenders for the other spot are NSW senator Tim Ayres, West Australian MP Patrick Gorman and Victorian MP Ged Kearney.
